


Promises

by CotyCat82



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CotyCat82/pseuds/CotyCat82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newly engaged Daniel Sousa is stupidly happy at the thought of spending his life with Peggy Carter. Until he hears the words of his worst nightmare: “They found Captain Rogers. He’s alive.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One

He still felt heady every time he saw his ring on her ring. It was a giddiness that he hoped never faded. 

His proposal had hardly been a surprise. They’d talked about it for months, before he’d braced himself on the table over dinner one night to slowly lower himself onto one knee, his real one, to officially ask. He’d known she would say yes, but a part of him still worried she might change her mind. He’d been stupidly happy, when he slide his grandmother’s ring, a silver band of leaves and petals, onto her finger. 

From the outside looking in, he supposed their relationship probably looked unevenly keeled. Sacrifices had to be made to make sure the newly appointed director of SHEILD would be able to turn the fledgling organization into a sustainable world presence. And the majority of those sacrifices would be made by Daniel. 

His career would take a backseat to hers. He’d not be joining her at SHIELD to avoid any questions of conflicts of interest or favoritism. He’d spent the next year shutting down the SSR. Going through the files, cataloging items, and then handing them over to the new organization. When he completed that assignment, he’d move to the FBI as an internal analyst. The work would be interesting, lots of research and fact finding, but it was a desk job. One that may be a bit beneath him, but it would keep him in Peggy’s field without stepping on her toes. And it also had the appeal of being located in an office building within walking distance of SHIELD’s new headquarters, where he’d be able to (hopefully) join Peggy for lunch on occasion. 

He knew that he’d be spending nights alone, waiting for her to come home. That she’d be away or working through holidays, and birthdays, and anniversaries. There would be long hours at work for her, which meant time apart from him. Time apart from each other. 

But the hardest sacrifice was the only one that still stung a bit: there would be no children. Being married and continuing to work would be stretch enough. If Peggy had a child, they both knew it would never be allowed. She’d have to give up her hard earned position. And she couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t ask her to do that. Maybe she’d clear the way for another woman to work and have a family, but they both knew Peggy couldn’t have both herself. Not with things as they were with women still barely welcome in the professional world. And the choice was easy: it had to be her work. The country, the world, needed her. 

Daniel consoled himself with the fact that they had nieces and nephews on both sides. They’d have children in their lives. And they’d have each other. Besides, if Peggy couldn’t be the mother of his child, he didn’t want anyone else to be. It was the one and only real disappointment for Daniel. And the one thing that Peggy seemed to think might divide them. Assuming when she said it out loud that they’d have to remain childless, he’d end things between them then and there. Or worse still try and undermined and chip away at her to change her mind. He’d taken her hand, and meant every word, when he told her, “I’ll spend my life with you on any terms I have too. And I promise to always honor your wishes and choices.” She’d cried on his shoulder, thanking him for understanding. 

And it wasn’t as if Peggy wasn’t making sacrifices to be with Daniel as well, even though they might be less apparent. Marrying at all was going to be an issue for her. Married women didn’t, shouldn’t work, according to societal norms. She’d already been doing battle at SHIELD simply because she was engaged now. Colleagues that coveted her position were trying to use it as reason to push her out. She’d no doubt come out on top, but it was a headache she probably didn’t need. And a battle she’d likely be fighting for years. 

Daniel didn’t doubt for a moment that Peggy would have been content to keep on as they were, together but not formally, were it not for the fact that marriage was important to him. He wanted the formalized commitment, the big wedding, and Peggy walking down an aisle towards him in white. And because it mattered so much to him, she made it matter to her. “I don’t suppose I’ll be a traditional wife at all, let alone a very good one,” she’d told him, “but I promise to be the best one that I can to you, Daniel.” She’d said looking down at the new ring on her finger, before up to meet his gaze. Her eyes had been dewy and large with emotion. He’d kissed her hands and then pressed them to his heart. 

Her biggest concession to him though was the one that went against her very nature. Peggy wasn’t particularly demonstrative. Her English reserve kept her emotions tightly reigned. She loved him and told him so, and to her that was enough. It was an established fact that didn’t bear repeating often, but Daniel needed more than that. He needed to hear it more than every once and awhile. He needed to feel it and see it every day. So he’d asked her to promise him that she would try to say it, to show, to make a point of assuring him that she felt it as often as possible. 

So she’d pull him in for a kiss goodbye and rest her forehead against his, saying. “My love. My love.” Or tracing an “I” and a “Heart” and a “U” on his arm when they sat together reading at night. Or if she was going to be late for dinner or miss it entirely, she’d send over a note that had her mouth print on it in lipstick. 

But Daniel liked it best, when, she’d simply said it without giving it much thought. A quick “I love you” before she was out the door in the morning or saying it in lieu of goodbye when they’d speak on the phone. He needed to hear it and she made a point, made a promise to them both, that she would make sure that he never doubted that he had her heart. 

He’d been the happiest he ever had been in his life, those first few weeks of the engagement. Coasting through his work day, until he could see Peggy for lunch or dinner. Planning what they would do that evening. And it was so easy to daydream, when all he was doing was sorting through files. He pictured their wedding and their honeymoon and their life together. 

He’d been so lost in thought that day, in fact, that he’d not heard the commotion when it first came through the SSR doors. Or noticed the resulting chaos from his office, Roger Dooley’s old one. 

Someone had to come and find him, to tell him that a bunch of SHIELD agents were there to collect certain files for immediate use. And that whatever was going on seemed to be some kind of emergency. Going to see what was happening for himself, Daniel found at least 20 of Peggy’s people in the bullpen gathering boxes of files for transport. 

Daniel honed in on Peggy’s most trusted aid, a barely 20 something kid named Bentley, loading files onto a dolly. 

“What’s this about?” he asked, not realizing at first that something wasn’t right when the kid refused to meet his eyes. 

“We need the Project Rebirth files.” Bentley had replied, clearly uncomfortable, almost bouncing up and down as if to dispel nervous energy. “Right away.”

“Why?” Daniel asked, still not putting the pieces together.

“They found Captain Rogers. He’s alive.”

Daniel felt his entire word drop right out from under him. It was his worst nightmare come to life.


	2. Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel waits.

It wasn’t unheard of for her to not get a message to him. It was the nature of the job. Sometimes all he’d hear was that she was off on a mission to an undisclosed location, for an undisclosed amount of time. Her security clearance was so much higher than his these days that virtually everything she did was classified. It was awful not knowing where she was, that she was safe. But before he always trusted her, trusted that she’d come back to him. 

Which is why, given the circumstances, surely she could have made a call, written a note, sent a smoke signal. Give him some indication of just what the hell was going on. Then again, just what could she possibly say to him? “Sorry Daniel, now that the real love of my life is back, I’m heading off to leap back into his arms. Thanks for keeping his spot warm.”

Howard Stark and Colonel Chester Phillips seemed to have dropped off the grid at the same time Peggy had. As had Edwin Jarvis. And Peggy’s aid Bentley had proven very quickly just where his loyalties were, telling Daniel jack and then shit about just how they knew that Captain Rogers was alive and where Peggy had gone to rendezvous with him. 

But he wasn’t without his own connections. He reached out to his personal contacts. Information was still limited, but according to his informants, it was Rogers himself, not the Valkyrie, that had been found. He’d apparently washed up on the Canadian coast somewhere and was picked up by fisherman. They’d not known who he was a first, but once his identity became clear he’d been taken into protective custody. And all the old Project Rebirth players were called in. None had been heard from since. 

Rogers was too big a fish to fry for word of his reappearance to stay quiet for long. With his contacts assuring him that as soon as they knew something so would he, Daniel had been left with nothing else to do but wait. So he’d gone through the motions the past few days. Getting up. Getting dressed. Going into the SSR and continuing the process of shutting it down. 

Stuck in a limbo like hell, with no word from Peggy of any kind to either put him at ease or break his heart. On a sort of auto pilot during the day, in which he was numb, but at least he was distracted with work. The nights, however, had been horrible, awful, voids of pain. Of wondering and waiting and expecting the worst. Of feeling like he was crawling out of his skin. 

Peggy and he had rented rooms in the same building, but on different floors. It was convenient and it allowed them to keep up appearances. And inevitably, every night Daniel found himself using his spare key to let himself into Peggy’s apartment. To feel the echo of her there. The paper she’d likely read three days before folded neatly by the radio. Her favorite tea mug in the dish drainer. The shawl she kept on the sofa for when she got cold. And her clothing, suits and dresses and a few ladies trousers, lined up neatly in her closet, all carrying a trace hint of her perfume. 

He spent his nights sitting in the rocker in Peggy’s apartment pushing himself back and forth until exhaustion took over and he’d finally pass out. The night before she’d disappeared, they’d made love in that chair. Peggy sitting on his lap had used her legs to rock them back and forth. She’d not lifted her head from his shoulder the entire time and he’d held gently onto her back. It had been soft and slow, a break from the hectic and heckling world they lived in. Peace that only two people who loved each other deeply could find together. But all of that was gone now. 

And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do, but wait for the other shoe to drop. Knowing that whatever promises she’s made to Steve Rogers would no doubt supersede any promises she’d made to him.


	3. Day Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one ever wants to be the bearer of bad news….except Jack Thompson.

Daniel was so muddled, he’d gone into work on Saturday. The SSR, which before had to be maned to the teeth 24/7/365, was deserted now on holidays and weekends. Its work no longer important enough to warrant paying folks overtime. 

Finding himself in the empty office, and at his wits end, he did what any reasonable person would have: Daniel took all of his anger and frustration out on his desk. Knocking papers and objects off it with his crutch and then slamming it repeated, until he was both exhausted and had left a few dents in the wood.

It did actually make him feel better. That surprised him. He’d never been prone to angry outbursts. Despite having several more than justifiable reasons in his life to have them (his mother dying when he was so young, losing his leg, working under Jack Thompson), it just wasn’t in Daniel’s nature to lose his temper. So when he lost his cool, he knew he was badly off.

By the time Monday rolled around and he realized it had been a full week and no one seemed to have heard from Peggy or any of the Project Rebirth staff that he stopped wallowing in his own self-pity and started to worry. Wanting to keep Captain America’s reappearance from the public was one thing, but Peggy, Stark and Philips were all busy, important people. For them not to be heard from, at all, for anything, for a whole week didn’t sit right. 

Daniel had moved on from dwelling on the ruins of what he though was going to be his happy life with Peggy, to genuinely being concerned that something was well and truly wrong. He knew for certain that he was right about that when he walked into the SSR to find Jack Thompson seated at his desk. Jack’s feet were propped up on it and he’d apparently helped himself to some of Daniel’s whiskey. It wasn’t even ten in the morning. 

“Howdy, Sousa” Jack intoned, raising his glass towards Daniel as if in toast. “You look like you got run over by a tank.” 

Desperate as he’d been, of course, Daniel had reached out to Jack to see if he had any intel on Peggy. He knew that they occasionally worked together since Peggy began running SHIELD, but Daniel wasn’t in the know on what specifically. He did know that after leaving the SSR little over a year ago, Thompson had done well for himself. So well, in fact, that Daniel wasn’t exactly sure who he worked for or just what he did. Shy of a placement like Peggy’s that was the ultimate show of assent to power in the spy world. 

“Glad to see you made yourself comfortable.” Daniel said rounding his desk to pour a whiskey for himself. Given everything, he both needed and deserved it.

Jack’s eyebrows went up at that. Daniel had never been a much of a drinker. Let alone one to start before noon. With more than a little judgement in his voice Jack said. “Had to find some way to occupy myself. You’re more than an hour late.”

“Well if I’d know you were coming I would have been here early with bells on, former Chef.” Daniel said, moving to sit on the side of his desk right next to Thompson. No way was he sitting across from the man, in a guest’s chair, in his own office.

“You got something for me?” Daniel asked, not in the mood for any of the macho posturing Jack so enjoyed. 

“It’s not much.” 

“It’s enough for you to pay me a personal call.”

“It’s the only way I could tell you the next the nothing I do know.” Jack said, suddenly getting serious. Pulling his feet from Daniel’s desk and reaching under it, Jack pulled a file from his briefcase. 

He tossed it at Sousa, who immediately started to flip through it. “Details are still sketchy, but the best timeline we were able to put together is in there. Rogers was pulled from the ocean about nine days ago by a group of Canadian fishermen. It took them a day or two to figure out who he was. Once they did, they handed him over to the Mounties, who notified us. The Project Rebirth staff were called in from there. Went to the medical center in Canada to get him and found a team of Commies trying to pick him up first. Resulted in that.” 

Daniel had just flipped to the photos of the shoot up hospital. He’d seen some pretty horrible things in his life as a solider and later as an agent, but if he’d actually eaten breakfast he would have thrown it right back up. The images were a god damn blood bath. Medical equipment shot to hell and bodies everywhere. People ridden with bullet holes were scattered across the floor. Some in medical scrubs. Some in what he recognized as American special ops uniforms, and some in Russian gear. 

“Peggy?” Daniel asked well and truly frightened. 

“Alive or at least she was right after the firefight. She called in a pursuit of the Commies. They have Rogers. Marge took a team after them.” 

Christ. Russians in Canada. With Captain America as a hostage. Daniel had all kind of horrible scenarios floating in his head for days now, but it never occurred to him to think international incident. 

“For obviously reasons we want to keep this hush-hush.” Jack continued as Daniel flipped through the photos. In the corner, partly shredded and covered in blood-stains, the photographer had captured an image of the famous red, white and blue suit.

“Is Rogers hurt?”

“We don’t know. The Canadians reported that he was disoriented. Didn’t seem to know who he was or understand what was going on, but they didn’t report any injuries. He may have been hit in the firefight or that might just be blood spatter from someone else.”

Daniel nodded, continuing the flip through the photos. Knowing that Jack would be walking out the door with them, so he’d better and try and get through them all now. 

“So what’s the plan?”

“Marge has her orders. She’s went radio silent after receipt. Their pretty far north, so it could be weather interfering, but the brass is concerned that she’d killed the comm because she didn’t like her brief.”

“Which was?”

“If she couldn’t extract Rogers, she was told to eliminate him.”

Daniel nearly dropped the file he was holding. “The U.S. Government ordered a hit on Captain America?”

“Only if he can’t be extrapolated. He’s too valuable a biological property to fall into Red hands.”

“He’s a human being.” Daniel fired back. 

Jack eyed him assessingly, then smirked. “He’s also your girl’s old flame. Leaves you in the lurch doesn’t it, Danny Boy?” 

Daniel gritted his teeth. Jack was the last person he was going to talk to this about, but Daniel wasn’t in a lurch at all. He'd known since he’d been told that Steve Rogers was alive that there was really only one thing he could do: bow out gracefully. He’d never put Peggy in the position where she had to choose. When he promised her he’d always respect her decisions and choices, he’d meant that. And he loved her enough to want her to be happy with Rogers and not wallowing in guilt over hurting him. It would be the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he’d do it. 

Daniel doubted like hell that Jack Thompson could understand a sentiment like that. “So what’s the next move then?” He asked as casually as he could, determined to not let Jack get a rise out of him.

“Hell if I know. This one’s above my brief. I can say though that if Marge screws this up because she’s lovesick, she can kiss that new position of hers goodbye.”

It just kept getting better, Daniel thought darkly, flipping through the photos one last time before Thompson could snatch them back.

“What’s that?” He asked pausing at a series of photos taken of something that looked like a pocket watch. 

Jack leaned over to look. “Rogers’ compass.”

“Oh. Why is that significant?”

“You’re not real up on your Cap trivia for someone seeing his girl, are you? That compass was shot up close on one of the war propaganda pieces. Marge’s hair and photo in it. Broke a bunch of hearts when the ladies back home realized that the Cap was taken. Its just more proof it’s really Rogers.”

Daniel shock his head. A lot of the Cap newsreels hit when he was in the hospital recovering from losing his leg. He’d not seen a good number of them. “Looks like a watch.”

“Get your eyes checked.” Jack said snatching the file back and getting up from Sousa’s desk. He drained his whiskey and was clearly making to go.

“Thanks for the intel, Jack.” Daniel told him honestly. 

“Felt I owed you something for saving my life on a few occasions.” He said nonchalantly. “But if anyone asks, I wasn’t here. This is a hot one. And this was a big favor, me coming down here. So we’re even now.”

“Well then, I guess when you hear anything else and don’t pass it my way, I’ll be the one owing you.”

Jack scoffed, but nodded. “Guess so.”

For a moment there Daniel started to think that perhaps Jack wasn’t as big of an ass as he always thought.

But then Thompson paused at his office door and said. “Well, if there’s one bright spot in this Danny-Boy at least she wasn’t married to you yet. Would have been a lot worse for you, when she left you for the Cap then.” 

No, Thompson was exactly the kind of jerk Daniel always thought he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a while. It was hard for me to find Jack's voice. He's an ass, but he's an ass of that period, so I really struggled with writing him. Peggy and Daniel are very modern, so flow a bit easier for me. Hopefully, I got Jack right, but do let me know what you think.


	4. Day Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You won’t be alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read, commented or left kudos on this story. I am so flattered by all the positive feedback. I can't believe I have over a thousand hits four chapters in. Really, I'm honored. 
> 
> I want to thank and acknowledge [Paeonia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Paeonia/pseuds/Paeonia) for allowing me to pick up the family structure used in "[Quo Vadis?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3804475/chapters/8475841)" If you're not reading that story as well, I highly recommend that you give it a go. It's amazing, well-researched and well-written. So much so, it's canon to me, which is why I am so grateful that I was allowed to use the characters from it.

The first thing that Daniel thought when he bent down to pick-up the paper that morning was “that’s my girl!” Then it occurred to him it was probably best that he stopped thinking of Peggy that way.

It was in every paper and on every radio station he’d flipped through “Captain America Found Alive.” Light on any real information of where and when and how Rogers was found, but full of patriotic valor and tales of Captain’s Rogers’ heroism during the war; Daniel recognized it for exactly what it was: pure public relations spin.

The brass would have to rescind their kill order now, what with the American people anxiously awaiting return of their red, white and blue hero. It was a smart play, and no doubt the higher ups would know that Peggy had done it, but she’d make sure they could never prove it. She was an old hand at tricks like that now; using the media to her advantage to protect the innocent, or to hurt the cruel, or to disclose information that shouldn’t be kept hidden. Using Stark’s PR machine and contacts, Peggy would push whatever she needed out to the public in a way that suited her purpose, but also protected her from backlash. It was a smart damn move.

With the news that Rogers was alive hitting the press, Daniel hoped that he’d finally hear something that day. Even if Peggy and her team still didn’t have the Cap in hand, she didn’t need to stay radio silent anymore and should have been able to get some kind of communication to him. He’d been useless most of the morning at the SSR, practically running into the bullpen anytime he heard a door open or close, hoping it was a messenger.

Just after noon, when he couldn’t take it anymore, Daniel forced himself to take ten minutes to go out and get a sandwich and some air. He’d come back to find more commotion in the SSR. Bentley was back. This time with a smaller crew, once again packing up files that were needed immediately. Everything on the Howling Commandos, as well as the bulk of what they had a Hydra.

Daniel tried questioning the kid again. Why those files? Where the Commandos being called in now as well? Had Hydra, God forbid, reappeared on top of everything else? And once again Daniel was met by Bentley’s polite, differential replies that told him absolutely nothing. Peggy certainly knew how to choose her people well, even if Daniel had to urge to knock the kid about with his crutch. Not because he wouldn’t tell Daniel anything, that was his job, but because of the pity that Daniel was convinced he saw in Bentley’s eyes.

That evening, when he’d headed home, his intention was to go straight to bed. Ten days of little to no sleep, not really eating anything, and another let down of no news had taken its toll. His body and mind were at their limits and he knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer. Muttering a little prayer for something to break, he turned the hallway corner and found his father waiting for him outside his door. The daily with its “Captain America Found” headline in his hands.

“Daniel?” His father questioned stepping towards him, worry and concern written across his face. And Daniel finally being offering something in the way of comfort and understanding, choked up for a moment, before walked right into his dad’s arms. Tears welling in his eyes.

 

##################################################################

When Daniel had first brought Peggy home to meet his family, he’d been a ball of nervous and proud energy. From the moment Peggy had stepped foot off the train, she’d attracted a great deal of attention, even before she opened her mouth and revealed her clipped, English accent.

Howard had gifted them suitcases with wheels, to make them easier for Daniel to handle before they’d left, but it wasn’t the newfangled invention that his town folks had stared at as he and Peggy walked from the station to his brother-in-law's waiting car across the street.

She was without question the most beautiful woman to ever roll through his blue collar little town in Massachusetts. Peggy looked like a movie star after all, and carried herself with straight backed posture that held something of the army in it, even as her hips rolled like a screen siren.

Daniel watched the people watch Peggy, their eyes darting from her to him. Nods of approval from some of the men that he knew. Looks of envy, perhaps jealousy, from some of the women. Even with his lost leg, Daniel had been considered something a catch in his hometown. He’d gone to college, after all, and held a good government job.

Before the war, he’d gone steady with one girl, Laura, for a while, but no promises had been made when he shipped out. Still, on the few occasions Daniel had made it home, he gotten the sense that there was some renewed interest in him from Laura and a few other girls. Even if, and mostly likely if, it was just because he would have been a ticket out of the small, working class town. No doubt, Peggy’s presence would draw that to an end.

His brother-in-law, Joe, who drove them from the station to his father’s house, seemed to be in outright awe of Peggy. Barely able to form full sentences and trying not to let Daniel notice that he was trying not to stare at her. “Jesus, Danny, how in the hell did you land her?” Joe asked, not without good nature, as Daniel’s two sisters who’d been waiting for them to pull up, had fluttered and fused about Peggy, ushering her up the sidewalk into the house.

“Won her gambling.” Daniel deadpanned before following the three women into the house. He could just make out Joe chuckling behind him.

Daniel’s father had still been at work when they had arrived, but would be back by dinner to meet the guest of honor. In the meantime, Daniel’s sisters, Ines and Tillie, had made preparations for an English tea in Peggy’s honor. Daniel recognized the tight, apprehensive smile on Peggy’s face. The words “American’s have no business with a teapot” was something that Peggy had said to Daniel on more than one occasion. Occasions on which Daniel liked to reminder her the “Brit’s have no business about a coffee maker.”

But Ines, wanting to impress, had gotten a book on the subject and learned to do it right. The crust had been cut from the white bread sandwiches. The scones had been served with Chantilly cream and the tea, loose leaf of course, had been properly steeped. Peggy had clearly been impressed and his sisters had clearly been delighted in pleasing her.

His sisters, bright, outspoken and free-willed in their own right, had wanted to like Peggy from the beginning, since it was so clear that Daniel loved her so. But it became apparent within minutes that the three of them would care for each other for more than just Daniel’s sake. All cut form the same cloth of strength and independence, they connected like the kindred spirits they were.

Daniel had been content to sit back and watch his family welcome Peggy as one of their own. Enjoying hearing her retell tales of their escapades at the SSR. Particularly relishing the stories that included the recounting of his heroics from Peggy’s perspective. He’d been so caught-up, he’d not noticed his father having come in from work, leaning in the doorvframe watching the scene as well.

“Mr. Sousa.” Peggy had said rising to greet him and politely holding out her hand. His father took it and gave it a proper shake, greeting her warmly with a kiss on each cheek. And then surprisingly, unusually, fading in to the background the rest of the night. Oh, his father had played an excellent host, but he largely let Tillie and Ines direct the conversation. He’d been polite, but not his usual warm and effervescent self.

Peggy even notably commented on how quiet his father was when they’d finally been given a moment alone just before bedtime. He must be tired Daniel told her by way of excuse, wondering himself at the odd reserve. So after Peggy had turned in for the night (in a separate bedroom of course), Daniel went to his father’s room and knocked gently on the door.

“Pai....” Daniel began, not even having to finish the thought.

“She’s a beautiful, intelligent, warm young woman, Daniel. I can see why you’re so taken with her.” His father said from his perch on the end of his bed, where he’d been seated. Tie half off and his shoes removed.

“But…”

“I’ve seen her before, Daniel. I recognize her from some news reels. Correct me if I am mistaken, but wasn’t your Miss Carter seriously involved with Captain Steve Rogers before his death?”

Daniel’s heart had sank. It’s not that he wanted to hide Peggy’s past from his family. It was just that he’d hoped to at least get through the first meeting without Captain America inserting himself into the picture. He wanted to be the main person in Peggy’s life for once, with Rogers playing a supporting role in her past. And of all the places that that should have happened, his home, with his family, should have been it. It was the perhaps the one and only time Daniel really found himself resentful of Peggy’s lost love.

“She was.” Daniel told his father flatly, and he hoped in something of a neutral tone.

“That’s quite a loss.” His father had said gently. A silence between them hung for more than a moment. An awkward, pregnant pause, that seldom happened in Daniel’s close-knit and happy family.

“She’s wonderful, Daniel, really, it’s just…I don’t want you to be second in the heart of the person you so clearly want to spend your life with. You deserve more than that.”

Daniel had no idea how to reply to that. How could he tell his father, so earnest and sincere and concerned, that he’d had the same thoughts and fears himself, but had come to the conclusion that a distance second in Peggy’s heart wasn’t exactly a consolation prize. That he’d made peace with Peggy’s past and the ghost of Steve Rogers that would no doubt occasionally pop up for the rest of their lives.

“She is wonderful, Pai, and I’m lucky to have her, regardless of who she loved and lost first.” He finally said, rather lamely, before turning to go.

The sense that he’d disappointed his father seemed to hang over the entire trip after that. His dad had been polite and kind and inclusive of Peggy, but Daniel couldn’t help but get the sense that he watched her with something like trepidation. Watchful and wary of the power that Peggy had over his son that his father clearly wasn’t pleased about.

Daniel had been a bit angry at his father for that. He’d wanted his father to welcome Peggy like family, because Daniel wanted her to be family someday. He adored his dad and frankly didn’t know what to do with the notion that his father didn’t seemed to adore Peggy.

The day before they left, Daniel had woken early, restless and unhappy about how things had gone on the trip. Unable to stay in bed any longer, he made his way to the kitchen for some water, and stopped dead in his tracks, when he heard his father’s and Peggy’s voice, low and soft and intimate on the patio immediately outside the kitchen.

Daniel hadn’t meant to easy drop. Not really. But when he heard his name and Steve Rogers’, he couldn’t help but listen in. Peggy spoke so softly that Daniel couldn’t make out a lot of what she said. Only bits and pieces drifted into him from the open kitchen window. But he recognized her tone well enough. It was the soft, sad, low way she always spoke about Rogers.

His father’s voice had been louder and stronger though. Clear enough for Daniel to make out every sentence. “No. No, you’re right.” Daniel heard his father say, “It’s a miracle of sorts, I suppose. And I’m sorry I didn’t think of it that way a first. It’s just when my Emma went, well, I didn’t think there could ever be anyone else, so I suppose I assumed it was like that for everyone. But for you, well, it’s a blessing isn’t it? To have two great loves in your life.”

Peggy had said something inaudible in reply. Daniel could just make out their shadowy forms on the bench outside, shifting closer together after she’d finished.

“Can I ask you to promise me something then?” His father had continued, clearly happy with whatever Peggy had said. “I’ll promise to never doubt again that the heart expands to welcome more love into it, not less, if you promise to never again let misplaced guilt prevent you from seeing the blessings that you’ve been given.”

“Deal.” Peggy had said loudly enough for Daniel to hear. She pulled back from his father to extend her hand to him for a shake. His father had taken it, but turned it up right for a kiss. Then he pulled Peggy into a hug. At that, Daniel decided that desertion was the better part of valor. He didn’t need to know the details of the exchange that his loved ones just had, only that they’d come to some kind of understanding.

That last day before they’d left, Daniel’s father had been himself again. Dotting on and fussing at Peggy, clearly opening his heart, as well as his home to her. And if Daniel had any doubt that Peggy had meet his father’s approval from then on, it had been put paid when as he and Peggy left for the station, his father had slide a small box into Daniel’s hand. Inside was his grandmother’s engagement ring. “Let me know when I can officially welcome her into the family.” His father had whispered in his ear.

 

##################################################################

“He’s the love of her life. I can’t get in the way of that.” Daniel finished lamely recapping as much of the past few days as he could for his father. No stranger to the concept of security clearance in his son’s life, Frank Sousa hadn’t pushed at the obvious holes in Daniel’s story.

“And she is the love of yours.” His father said knowingly. “It’s so terribly cruel and unfair to everyone. But it’s particularly unfair to you, Daniel. I’m so sorry. I hopped a train as soon as I saw the headline this morning because I wanted you to know that no matter what happens, that we’re here for you. You won’t be alone.”

Daniel nodded and looked down into the cup of coffee his father had fixed for him. “I appreciate that, but you didn’t have to come. You could have just called….but….I….Thank you. I’m really glad you're here.”

His father rested his hand on top of Daniel’s. “Do you remember how I was a bit concerned when you brought Peggy home to meet us? Because I didn’t want you to be second fiddle?”

“Yeah. You weren’t exactly subtle about it.”

“No. I wasn’t. You’re my son and you come first to me and I don’t apologize for that. But do you know what made me change my mind about it? Made me think differently?”

Daniel thought back to the conversation he’d only partly overheard, but shook his head to the negative. He hadn’t heard enough of it to even guess. At the time, he’d just been so thrilled that his father had come around to Peggy that he’d never given it much thought.

“Peggy told me that she’d struggled with it as well. Where her loyalties should lie. Questioning if she was being dishonorable to Captain Rogers memory, as she was coming to care for you. Wondering how you hold two people in your heart at once. She told me that she felt guilty, like she was wronging both of you, for a long while. But that she finally made her peace with it, when she realized that Steve had saved you for her.”

Daniel crinkled his brow in confusion.

“Let’s not mix words about it, Daniel. If Captain Rogers hadn’t broken that blockade when he did, you wouldn’t be short a leg, I’d be short a son.”

“He saved a lot of men that day besides me.”

“He saved a lot of people in general, I believe. But he specifically saved you. You who would join the SSR and become a friend and ally for Peggy when she needed that most. She told me that because Captain Rogers had saved you when he did and how he did, it set you on a path towards her. Even the fact you lost your leg mattered, because if you hadn’t, you might not have ended up at the SSR.”

Daniel thought about that for a moment and realized that it well may be true. If he’d come back whole, his life would no doubt have been very different. He would have walked a complete other path.

“Peggy said, to her, it was as if the Captain was somehow blessing the two of you because of that. Like he wanted her to know that it was okay for her to love again because he had a hand in how the two of you connected. And that instead of feeling guilty for moving on with her life, she’d come to realize that she should be grateful that one love had led her to another.”

Daniel turned that about in his mind for a moment. Flipping it sideways and back. Peggy had never said anything to him about it. Although he’d known she’d fought her feelings for him for a while. And Peggy had asked him, on more than one occasion, to tell her about the day Rogers had saved his company, seemingly mulling it over as he spoke. Daniel pressed his chin into his hands in frustration. It was so hard to think clearly about this or anything else now. He was so damn tired.

Sensing that, his father said, “Daniel, you’re exhausted and at the end of your rope. You need to eat something, something substantial and warm, and then get some sleep.” His father got up to start fusing about the kitchen, preparing to cook for him.

“What do you think she’ll do?” Daniel asked after a lengthy pause.

The pots and pans his father was shuffling stopped moving for a good moment. “I don’t know.” A beat, and then Frank added, “But don’t discount your time with her, Daniel. It’s been three years since she thought the Captain died and she’s spent two of them with you.”

“I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“I don’t want you to either, but she’s not the same person she was then.”

His father cooked a hearty dinner for him, which Daniel ate with relish. It may have been the first real meal he’d had since the whole fiasco began. And even though he was exhausted, Daniel had tried to make some conversation over it as they ate. But it sort of came and went, as he was having trouble focusing. “How long are you planning on staying?” He finally asked, genuinely curious.

“As long as I need to. I told you, you won’t be alone with this. No matter what happens.”

After supper, Daniel had opted to sleep on the sofa in the living room, despite his father’s best efforts to get him into the apartment’s one bedroom. 

“No,” Daniel had told him, “You take it, besides it will be easier for me to drift off out here with you puttering about. It’s comforting.”

And that’s exactly what Daniel did, lying on the sofa. Listen to the sounds of his father tiding his normally much cleaner apartment. It was nice to hear the motions of someone else there and Daniel felt himself drifting off to the noises of dishes being washed and pans being dried.

He’d almost been completely under, when one last thought fluttered through his mind. Without even bothering to open his eyes he asked, “Pai, did you see the newsreel of Peggy’s picture in the Captain’s compass?”

“Yes. Why?” His father asked from somewhere behind him.

“What did it look like?”

“How do you mean? It was just a compass.”

“Standard issue?”

“Daniel, I don’t honestly remember it that well. Why are you asking?”

“I don’t know.” Daniel told him truthfully. The image of it had just stuck with him for some reason he supposed. He just couldn’t fathom why.

Daniel had been out for at least a couple of hours, settling into the deepest slumber he’d had since Peggy had disappeared, when some noise at the door made him surface from it. He was disoriented and confused, but he snapped right out of that when he heard someone say “telegram” through the door.

He ran towards it, somehow making it over despite not having his prosthesis on. He ripped the envelope from the delivery boy’s hands, as his father who’d gone to bed as well, emerged from the bedroom to tip and thank the carrier, before sending him on his way.

With the door shut, his father asked, “What does it say?”

“Howard Stark's been emergency evacted to SHIELD’s medical center.” Daniel had replied, shoving the unsigned telegram into his father’s hand. “We’ve got to get there ASAP.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies to those of you who I told his would be up sooner. It took longer than I thought it would, because it ended up being longer than I thought it would. I hope it was worth the wait though.


	5. Day Eleven-Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel does what Daniel does best – investigates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon my delay in getting this up. My real life is interfering with my fantasy life. 
> 
> Also, pardon my Russian. It comes from google translator, so lord knows it is probably wrong.

Stark had been hit with something called “ne to slovo gaza.” It was some kind of Russian gas that had the delightful side effect of making the person it hit unable to communicate intelligibly. How much you were hit with determined how long that lasted. Stark been shipped back because he’d taken in enough of the gas that the doctors assumed it would take at least two weeks for it to wear off, and as long as it was in his system Stark was a liability, not an asset, to Peggy’s team. 

When Daniel first bullied, badgered and threatened his way into SHEILD’s medical facility, he’d just nodded vehemently, as the doctor tried to explain this on the way to Stark’s private room. But he hadn’t really been taking it in, about Stark saying one thing, but really meaning another. Then when Peggy’s inventor friend greeted him the situation became all too painful clear. 

“Cripple! Story time about spring with red lipstick and lost airplane. We had to hop the bang wagon to try and get the party started,” Stark had then let out a monumental growl before pounding the bed in frustration. 

Daniel just turned to the doctor questioningly. 

“Wrong word gas.” The doctor had said by way of reply. “Until it clears your system you blurt out seemingly unintelligible sentences. It’s very frustrating to both the patient and the listener. The good news is that it’s temporary. The bad news for Mr. Stark here is that he took in quite a bit of it, so it’s going to take a while to exit his system.” 

“Giraffe! Tragedy of Roman Empire that we can’t two step! Robot could spell nothing.”

Daniel had put two fingers to the bridge of his nose, feeling the headache forming. The doc had gone on to explain that if Howard tried to write, they’d get the same results. And held up a paper with random words in Stark’s handwriting as proof. 

“Candy. What a diamond.” Stark had added. 

“Can I stay with him? See if maybe I can make out what he’s saying?” Daniel had asked, looking at Stark’s darkening expression with unease. 

The man was a pain in the ass when he could speak clearly. Daniel never really full understood what Peggy saw in Stark. He was a genius, of course, and made her some handy gadgets, but he could also be a petulant child. The best guess Daniel had on the matter was that Stark had always been one of Peggy’s last connection to Rogers. They’d both gone through it with the Cap, after all, so no matter how much Stark got on Peggy’s nerves – which he clearly did – she treated him like family. So Daniel did to, even if he thought of Stark as the yutz cousin you’d learned to tolerate, even as you were a bit embarrassed by them. Especially in public. 

“Not my call, but if the brass didn’t want you here, I doubt you would be. Then again, with Mr. Stark in the state he’s in, it’s not like he’s going to be giving away state secrets. It’s all random gibberish. Not that I ever thought that he made much sense before this.” 

Stark, clearly not happy with the doctor’s comment, had screamed after the man as he left to do rounds, “Crane, I’ll carry you to school lunch room yesterday for singing!” 

Daniel had stayed awhile after that, trying at first to figure out what Stark actually meant to say and then ultimately just trying to calm him down, as he got more and more frustrated by not being able to communicate his point. After the nurse ultimately had to sedate Stark, Daniel made his way back to the little-used reception area in SHIELD’s medical headquarters where he’d left his father to wait. 

His father popped up when he saw Daniel, but had sense enough to wait until they were back at Daniel’s place before peppering him with questions. 

“That must be frustrating to a man like that, so used to people hanging on his every word.” His father had said insightfully, as they sat over bourbons at Daniel’s kitchen table. Then after a moment, he asked. “How did you know the telegram was real?” 

“The fourth word was misspelled.” Daniel said, undoing his prosthesis and sighing with relief. He’d been neglecting his stump and was starting to pay for it. Painful red welts were starting to form, and if he wasn’t careful he could end up in the hospital himself with open sores. 

At his father’s blank look, Daniel added, “Oh sorry. That was an old SSR protocol we’d use when we needed to send messages to other agents anonymously while in field.”

“So the telegram was from Peggy?”

Daniel shock his head to the negative, and stared dejected down into his glass of bourbon. “No if it was her, the typo would have included a P.”

“Oh. Your work is very interesting, Daniel.”

Daniel scoffed dejectedly. “You don’t know the half of it.” But then his head shot up when something occurred to him. 

“What is it?” His father asked. 

“Did you see the doctor who walked me back towards Stark’s room?”

“In passing….”

“Would say he had an unusually long neck?” 

“Well, now that I think about it, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Cranes and giraffes have long necks too.” Daniel had said in delighted realization, hopping up from the table and then having to clutch at it as he lost his balance on his one foot. 

Helping to steady him, his father got Daniel seated again and then gently pulled Daniel’s glass away from him, clearly thinking perhaps the drink hadn’t been such a good idea for his overly-taxed son after all, “Maybe it’s time you get some sleep…..”

“Pai,” Daniel said laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. “I don’t think Howard is quite as unintelligible as everyone else seems to think. I think those were words he was calling the doctor because he had such a long neck. If there is a pattern, a code to Stark’s verbal jumble, he still may be able to tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Okay, say you’re right. Say, Starks weird word selection isn’t completely random. Besides just catching the coincidence with the doctor’s long neck, how exact would you decipher what he was trying to say? It doesn’t seem like you’d have much to begin with.” 

“I’m the head of the SSR, Pai. I have a whole room of agents at my disposal. And not just code crackers. I’ve still got some damn good investigators on my payroll and I’m going to put them to use to figure this whole thing out.” Daniel hopped up again, ready to take on the entire case in that moment, but once more lost his balance and would have fallen over like a lumbered tree if his dad hadn’t caught him. 

“Sounds like a plan. For tomorrow. After you’ve gotten some sleep and after you’ve taken proper care of that leg.” 

############################################################

Daniel had planned to launch an investigation regardless that next morning when he marched into the SSR, but waiting on his desk was a practically gift wrapped legitimate reason for him to do so. One of his contacts had provided him a copy of the SHIELD report on how Stark was separated from the main team. 

In pursuit of the Cap, Peggy’s team had stumped across some kind of Russian lab practically in the Northwest Passage. Howard and a small team had stayed behind to catalogue it. Their initial inventory was frightening as hell: innovative weaponry, spy devises and the components of what Daniel knew to be the beginnings of a nuclear bomb. 

Things that the Russians clearly didn’t want the Americans to know were practically on their back door step. So they’d sent a special opts team in to blow-up the facility and Howard and his team that were in it. Stark’s team had somehow made it out alive, even as the Russians had briefly pursued them. They’d all been hit with the wrong word gas during the escape. Howard had just taken in more than anyone else. And as too much of an important asset to be risked, Stark had been brought back to the states to err on the side of caution with his recovery. 

As the Director of the SSR, even as it was being dismantled, Daniel was still well within his right to investigate a matter of national security, no matter what SHIELD was or was not doing about the matter as well. And he still had some good, strong agents on his roster to launch an investigation with, and the way he saw it some damn good evidence to start with. 

Firstly, there was Stark himself, clearly trying to say something. Something important enough that he worked himself up into a fit each time he meant to tell Daniel one thing and ended up screaming about aardvarks and roller skates instead. No one in SHIELD had yet to prevent Daniel from seeing Stark, so under the guise of visiting and comforting his friend, Daniel visited Howard in the medical facility twice a day over the next few days. 

If he happened to discreetly bring in pen and paper and write down everything Stark was saying, to hand over to his decoders later, well what SHIELD didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. They seemed to be operating under the impression that Howard was completely unintelligible. And from the way SHIELD’s agents were treating him each time he arrived to see Howard, Daniel didn’t doubt that once Stark started to make sense again visiting hours would end. But in the meantime he was going to take full advantage of the access he did have. 

Daniel also had the gas itself to go on. Knowing who developed it and when and how it had been used before, could be a really useful insight. So Daniel tasked some agents with finding out everything they could about it and getting him a full report on it, including the names of anyone who had ever been hit with it. He was hoping to track them down and perhaps use their experience with trying to communicate through the gas to help decode what Howard was saying. 

The most important item that Daniel had in hand though that SHIELD did not (if they were actually conducting their own investigation, which Daniel strongly suspected they were), was the unsigned telegram. Who had sent it and why could potentially be a vital bit of intel and Daniel wasn't going to leave that avenue unexplored. 

The fourth word of the telegram had been misspelled with a Q. None of Daniel’s current team had a Q in their name and only a handful of past agents did. Daniel was going to dot his “I”s and cross his “T”s by interviewing past and present agents with a Q anywhere in their name personally, but he strongly suspected that the person who tipped him off about Stark had never been SSR. He just couldn't put his finger on why.

Daniel thought his best bet in tracking down the person who sent the telegram was to start from where it had been dispatched. So he sent two of his most trusted agents to Western Union to do the leg work. They’d come back saying some bum had paid cash for it according to the clerk. A homeless, former vet in an old gray coat with a clear drinking problem and a small scar on his chin. No doubt the man had been paid by someone else to write and send the telegram, but the question was who. If they could find the homeless vet, they could question him. 

His people had got right to it, but it would no doubt take a while to track the man down. Even years after the war now, pretty much all major cities were swimming in veterans unable to make a go of it. The distinct scar on the man’s chin at least gave them a decent shot at tracking him down. 

All of it was exactly the kind of pain stalking, put the puzzle pieces together, investigative work that Daniel was so good at. Under different circumstances, he might have even relished the opportunity to do more than supervising the cataloging of files again. But he couldn’t when it had been nearly two weeks and there was still no word from Peggy or her team. 

Nothing to him directly or, as far as Daniel knew, through official channels either once Stark had been handed over. And Daniel couldn’t think of any reason, good or otherwise, for the dead silence. And if he let himself think about it too long, he could feel the panic bubbling inside him, threatening to burst. So he tried to stay focused on his work during the day, demanding detailed reports on the investigation even as it was only in the preliminary stages.

And at night at least he had his father to go home to now. His father who had a warm, home-cooked meal on the table waiting for Daniel when he got home and who always showed up around lunch time with a bagged lunch that he made sure Daniel ate. 

Daniel had been so wrapped up in the beginnings of the investigation, he’d not given much thought to just what his father was doing during the rest of the day to occupy his time. But he found out when just shy of two weeks after Peggy had disappeared, he came back to his place and found a projector set-up and a film reel connected to it, as well as folder on the table filled with newspaper clippings. 

“What is all this?” Daniel had asked, flipping through the file, and realizing that perhaps he wasn’t the crack investigator he’d thought he was. His father may have just one upped him by going to the library. The folder was filled with newspaper articles about Captain America. 

“No pictures of the compass, but there were some references to his and his men’s gear.” He father had said coming up from behind him. “I put those articles on top. Below them are anything that I could find even mildly related to Peggy.”

Daniel momentarily at a loss for words, finally managed to stammer out as he flipped through the file. “This is…impressive, Pai. Thank you. I’m frankly a little embarrassed that it didn’t occur to me to do this myself.”

“It would have been a waste of your time and your people’s. It’s probably nothing anyway. And it gave me something to do.” His father had said, brushing it off gently. 

Daniel opted to let it go before he got too emotional about how grateful he was and asked, “What’s with the projector?”

“Ah. I made friends with one of the librarians. Nice woman, about my age. Very kind.” Daniel sensed that there might be more to that, but didn’t push as his father continued, “She let me borrow the reel with the compass on it and a projector to run it on. Have to bring it back tomorrow, but I thought you might want to have a look.”

“That would be great.”

They watched the reel with the image projected on the wall. It wasn’t as clear as a screen would have been, but Peggy’s face in Rogers' compass and the zoom in on him snapping it shut in annoyance at what he clearly felt was intrusion into his privacy, were clear enough. 

“Well?” His father asked, after their second viewing.

“I can’t say it was the same one I saw in the photo. But I also can’t say that it wasn’t.” A beat. “Damn.”

At his father’s inquisitive look, Daniel said. “I’m going to have to go and do something I really don’t want to do. Visit Thompson, and god help me, ask him for a favor. I’ve got to see that picture again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned this is a previous chapter, but wanted to note again that Frank Sousa is not my creation. He comes from Paeonia's amazing story [Quo Vadis?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3804475/chapters/8475841). Do check it out.


	6. Day Eighteen –Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel recalls two truths Peggy told him about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned that the next update for this story isn't going to happen until October and that I am leaving you with what I hope is quite a cliffhanger. Real life stuff is going to take me away from writing for a bit, but I promise to be back.
> 
> And in case anyone was wondering, yes, this had been planned from the beginning.

It had been Peggy who’d told him to trust his gut; that he had a knack for intuitive investigating and he should listen to his intuition more. They’d been lying in bed together at the time. It had been new then. So new between them, that Daniel hadn’t been sure it was anything more than a fling for Peggy. He remembered that so vividly because he’d still be hiding his stump from her. Wrapping his lower half up like a mummy in the bed sheets despite it being mid-summer and over 100 degrees outside.

She’d told him what he already knew: that he was good at the details. The meticulous research and detail orientation needed to follow-up on the often unglamorous, but generally, case cracking leads. But Daniel had never really trusted his gut, never thought of himself as the born agents that Peggy, and even Thompson, were.

“You sell yourself short.” She had said, clearly taking about more than just his investigative abilities. “You may not be running down suspects, but there is a lot to be said for being smart and meticulous and having follow-through. The tortoise did win the race after all.” No doubt making an allusion to her new nickname for Thompson, Jack Rabbit. One he’d earned, after an extremely awful case which had concluded when he fell into a truck of carrots. Daniel still snickered out loud when he thought about that one. 

He had come to believe her, eventually, about having good intuition. Like he’d come to believe that his feelings weren’t one-sided. It had just taken awhile. It was Peggy’s words that were ringing in his ear when he got his first report from the decoders, and knew that the continued reference to seasons, with the big question mark by it, was somehow vitally important. Which naturally meant it was the one thing his people had only been able to guess at. 

Other things, phrases and words, Howard had said were pretty easy to interrupt. Red Lipstick seemed to be Peggy. (Daniel could have beaten himself upside the head with his own crutch for not realizing that one sooner.) References to cold-climate animals seemed to be the Russians and their team. When Howard talked about parties or gatherings, he seemed to be alluding to the American effort to pursuit the Russians. Those translations all made perfect sense. 

But then there were the things, that without an actual code key to crack, his people had been left to make the best assumptions they could. They’d guessed that references to geese, mongoose or ducks were the advanced weaponry that the Russians either had or had been trying to retake. References to various kinds of transportation – planes, trains, automobiles – may having something to do with pursuit or movement, as well. 

As for the seasons, that Howard had brought up again and again – well three out of the four as Stark had never said winter – his people couldn’t even make more than a guess on it. Maybe it was the rough terrain. Maybe it was a nuclear weapon. Whatever it was though, they surmised it was dangerous. Something that Daniel agreed with having heard Starks tone when he said summer, spring or fall. 

Daniel’s people had taken the liberty of building out various “translated” scenarios for him to run by Stark. Stark couldn’t make a lick of sense himself, but he could shake his head yes or no to what Daniel read at him. Odds were that at least some of what his people had put together had to be at least somewhat right. And hopefully after a session or two with Stark, Daniel would have a better idea of what the hell was going on. 

##########################################

The other thing that Peggy had told him about himself that Daniel had known to be a truth was that he made idiotic assumptions when his feelings were involved. They’d just had their first go at make-up sex and Daniel, knowing then that they were lasting, was lying with his stump above the sheets bare for her to see. It was actually the least of his physical concerns at the time. In the heat of it, Peggy had scratched his back and stomach up to hell, drawing blood in a few spots. The red lines she’d left him with had started to sting a bit as he came down and he’d probably should have gotten up to get some iodine to put on them. 

“You let your emotions cloud your judgment.” She’d told him, clearly indicating that to her that was a bad thing. Although Daniel didn’t think so. Putting the people he loved first wasn’t something he was ever going to apologize for. But she wasn’t wrong either. It could be problematic, especially given what had just happened between them. 

Their knock down drag-out fight, which had led to the knock-out drag out love-making, had stemmed from Daniel having a knee-jerk reaction and not thinking things through. But that had only been the cause of the fight. What it had really been about was a different matter entirely. It would become a defining and changing moment in their relationship. And as stupid as Daniel had felt for causing it, he knew ultimately that he and Peggy had needed to have that argument. 

Thompson and Peggy had been away for days on a high-level undercover assignment. Daniel hadn’t been privy to any of the details, something that had just started to become fairly common. And while Daniel didn’t want to admit it, bothered him. He hadn’t realized that they’d even still been in town. So when Daniel had walked into a restaurant he didn’t usually frequent after an assignment of his own, and saw Peggy and Jack together in a booth—Thompson’s arms around her and Peggy’s head intimately in the nook of Jack’s neck—he’d outright lost it. 

Thank god his gut reaction was flight not fight. So he’d not blown their cover, but instead had gone off to lick his wounds. When Peggy had finally closed the case nearly a week later, she’d gone to Daniel’s apartment to wait for him. No doubt thinking that after being gone for so long, she was in store for a happy reunion. Instead when Daniel had come home to find her preparing dinner for them both, he’d lobbied all kind of accusations at her. At first she’d seemed stunned, and then she’d gotten angry. Angry in a way that only Peggy Carter could be. 

“Me and Jack Thompson?” She had said in a voice low and dangerous. “Or how about me and Howard Stark? You assumed that once too. Is there anyone else you’d like to accuse me of carrying on with, with little evidence and outright self-righteousness. I’ve got enough people in the world assuming that I’ve slept my way to where I am. If you’re one of them too, Daniel, I’ll have done with you right now.”

Daniel had known, but not really understood until that argument, just how much the notion of people assuming Peggy had slept her way to where she was, ate away at her. That she’d earned her position because of who she’d been with as oppose to what she had accomplished. It bothered her and worried at her, and she carried it about like a chip on her shoulders. 

But for Daniel, seeing Thompson and Peggy together hadn’t been about any perceptions about her career advancement. It had triggered his own most deeply-seeded fears and feelings of inadequacy: that Peggy would come to her senses one day and realize that she could do better than him. Peggy, who certainly wasn’t wanting for admirers, would wake up one morning and decide that she wanted someone who had both legs and didn’t need a crutch. 

They’d gone full on with each other, screaming and yelling and calling each other out on their own insecurities. Ultimately telling each other that the worst they thought about themselves wasn’t so, but loudly. Letting all the pent up anger they’d each been carrying come off them in waves. No, Daniel would tell her through gritted teeth, he didn’t think she slept her way to the top. But rather that she was so beautiful and smart that she could be with just about anyone that she wanted. And no doubt that next someone would be better than him. Peggy had fired back by telling him that his leg, or lack thereof, had never and would never bother her, and did he really think so little of her that it would? 

They’d gone round and round until they both fully understood just where each of them was tender and why. Until they both fully comprehended just how gentle they would have to be with each other in those spots. It ended when Peggy in a fit to make her point about his leg not bothering her, had pulled off his pants angrily. The next thing Daniel knew, they’d somehow been the bedroom, with their clothing off and his body clawed up. 

It had been amazing. Mind-blowing. Rendering Daniel speechless. And it had been a turning point for them, each finally seeing the other laid so bare. After that argument Daniel had never doubted that Peggy was committed to him fully. That was until Rogers had turned out to be alive. 

Daniel couldn’t help thinking about Peggy’s point that his judgement clouded when it was personal as he sat in Stark’s hospital room for the fifth day in a row trying to figure out just what the hell the man was saying. 

When his people had first handed him their best efforts at decoding, Daniel had thought he could finally get all the facts out of Stark in a visit or two. And boy had he been wrong. It hadn’t even occurred to Daniel just how slow of a going it would be, having to read things to Stark a sentence, sometimes a phrase or a word, at a time. Letting Stark nod or shake his head to verify each point. And Daniel had to do this without calling anyone at SHIELD’s attention to just what he was trying to accomplish. 

It had been painfully slow going, since Daniel only saw Stark in the morning and the evening for a few hours. It had taken days to just confirm what he already knew from the report Jack had shown him. Since then, Howard had been shaking his head at just about anything else Daniel’s coders had pulled together. No to this option. No to that one. It had been frustrating as hell. 

But still, Daniel didn’t think that the doctors were correct in saying that Stark was completely unintelligible. There was definitely a pattern to what he said, but it was a pattern that made sense to Stark, and Stark alone. The reports his people put together on the gas seemed to indicate that as well. Other people who had been hit with it had said that the words they were trying to communicate did make a certain sense, but often only became clear when they could explain themselves after the effects of the gas had worn off. 

Sensing that SHEILD was going to cut him off from Peggy’s inventor friend soon, Daniel had his coders go back to the drawing board and put together a few more scenarios for him to run by Stark. He’d just been about to leave the office with what he felt was their last ditch effort, when his two agents following up on the telegram had approached him, clearly excited with some kind of break. 

They’d been able to track the homeless vet down, and exactly as Daniel had suspected, he’d been paid by someone else to send the telegram. A tall British man. And as Daniel only knew one person who fit that description, it was what he’d started off with when he saw Stark that day. Holding up the telegram, so Stark could see it. 

“Did Jarvis send this to me?”

Stark had looked at the telegram, leaning forward to read it and then shock his head to the negative.

“Okay? Not on your orders then, but he does things all the time without your consent.”

Starks face had darkened at that. “Princes run amok in the forest.”

“Did Jarvis not go with you to Canada then?” Daniel asked trying another approach, remembering to ask one clear question at a time so Stark could shake his head to confirm or deny the statement.

Stark shock his head to the negative.

“So he did go to Canada with you?”

A nod to the yes.

“Did he come back to the States separately?”

Another shake to indicate a no.

“But he could have, couldn’t he?”

Stark had just looked at him slightly perplexed.

“You said in an earlier session,” Daniel had said reading from his notes, “That Jarvis went with Peggy while you stayed at the Russian base, correct?”

A nod.

“So it’s possible that Jarvis did later separate from Peggy’s group and come back to DC?”

“Drool rode on a snake to fairy land.”

“This is really no way to have a conversation.” Daniel had said in frustration. Before asking, “Does Jarvis have a Q in his name somewhere?”

Stark had just looked at him like he was nuts.

“Eggrolls in lemon juice.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” 

“Excuse me, sir.” Someone said behind Daniel. A young agent had been hovering in the door, but not one Daniel had seen around the medical center before. “You’re director Sousa?”

“I am.” 

“This is from rabbit.” The man had said, handing Daniel a folder and turning to leave without another word. 

So Jack hadn’t been ignoring Daniel’s efforts to reach him after all. He’d been trying for several days to get through to Thompson, outright begging for a meeting again and access to the file, or at least the photo of the compass, but heard nothing back. Looks like Daniel was going to owe the bastard a big favor, because inside the file was a single close-up of the compass in the Canadian facility. 

Daniel knew even before pulling out the still photo he’d gotten from the war propaganda piece (well his father had gotten from that nice librarian-a can of worms that Daniel wasn’t quite ready to open) that they didn’t match. He had stood there and looked at the two images side by side for more than a few minutes. They didn’t match. But what the hell did that actually mean. 

“Limp, road racing in water.” Stark had said, motioning to what Daniel was holding, indicating that he wanted to see. 

Explaining what the images were to Stark, Daniel held them up and asked knowing he’d get a nonsensical answer “Why are they different?” 

“Red lips in an oval.”

Trying again, Daniel said. “Did Rogers ever replace his compass?”

Stark looked utterly confused, looking from the picture and back to Daniel. “Flag?” 

“Did Captain Rogers ever replace his compass?”

Another blank look. 

Sensing he was on to something, Daniel tried. “Steve Rogers? Captain America?”

Stark had practically popped out of his bed. More agitated than he’d been at any other time since getting hit with the gas, which said something. “Flag? Yes, creation of soup.” Stark had pounded on the bed, actually jumping up and down on it. “Damn it. Never said name now.” Stark had finally managed to say, clearly struggling hard to get just those exact words out. 

Daniel had lunged forward to try and push Stark for more, sensing that the man was on the verge of being coherent again. But Stark had caused such a commotion that nurses and doctors had flooded into his room and promptly kicked Daniel out. He’d begged for just a moment more, just a quick second, but his pleas feel on deaf ears. 

He’d been so damn close, but seeing the two guards outside Stark's room waiting to escort him out of the building, Daniel knew that he wasn’t going to know what Stark had been trying to say anytime in the near future. Especially, since as he was led out, he was informed that Stark would no longer be receiving visitors. 

######################################

He’d not been paying attention to what was going on around him on his way back to his apartment. Daniel had been too lost in thought. The compasses didn’t match. There could be a whole slew of reasons for that. Rogers could have lost or replaced it, for just a start, but Daniel didn’t think so. Listening to his gut, he knew it was more than that. Stark had seemed outright confused, and then agitated when Daniel had shown him the images. The question was why. 

His father had been waiting for him on the sofa when Daniel had made his way home, reading, but clearly antsy. 

“You haven’t heard then?” His father had said after a quick assessment. 

“Heard?”

“It’s been all over the radio and papers all day.” His father had said quietly, looking down and not meeting Daniel's eye. “Captain America is coming home. There’s going to be a big parade in a few days to welcome him back.”

“Wonderful.” Daniel had replied darkly. “No word from Peggy?”

His father shook his head to the negative. A motion that Daniel was frankly getting sick of. Looking at his father, it occurred to Daniel that he was holding something back. 

“There’s more you’re not telling me.”

“No, that’s the gist of it.” 

Daniel looked at his father again. He knew when he was being told a half truth. “Pai…..let me see the daily.”

“Daniel, I…..” At Daniel’s look, his father stopped and started again. “Okay. But I didn’t want you to find out like this. She should have had the decency to contact you by now.” His father had said pulling the paper from underneath a pile of books on the side table and handed it over to Daniel. 

The main headline had read “Captain America: Coming Home,” and in smaller print beneath it, it said “Reunited with Lost love.” And in a clear black and white photo was Peggy in the Captain’s arm, kissing him full on. 

“Daniel?” His father prompted gently, but Daniel didn’t look up from the page. 

The captain was in full uniform, cowl and everything. His face hidden by it and Peggy’s. They been standing next to each other, head to head. They shouldn’t be even in height. Rogers should have been towering over her. That compass should have matched. And Stark shouldn’t have been surprised when Daniel had said Rogers name for the first time.

Because it occurred to Daniel that was the first time he’d actually used Rogers’ name with Stark. He’d been referring to the Captain neutrally before that, in pronouns, because it had been so painful for Daniel to say out loud. Because once again, his emotions had clouded his judgement and reasoning. 

“Daniel?” His father tried again. 

Looking up to meet his father’s eye, Daniel had outright stated, “That’s not Steve Rogers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always lovely. They'll help inspire me to get back to this asap once I can return to my regularly scheduled life.


	7. Day Twenty-Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Howling Commandos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So by the skin of my teeth, I managed to get this up before October ended. My apologies for the delay with this. I have no excuse, but life. Thank you to everyone for sticking with me on this despite the long gap. We're nearing the end and I will finish this. 
> 
> Also, thanks so much, Paeonia, for letting me bounce ideas off you. The hallway scene can be credited nearly completely to her. And Frank Sousa can be credited completely to her. Do check out her [Quo Vadis?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3804475/chapters/8475841) for more on how cool Frank is.

It was without a doubt the worst time of Daniel’s life. Which said something, because he’d had his leg blown off in Germany and then spent months in the hospital recovering from it. He’d gone to war and seen what was left of human beings lying twisted and turned inside out by the side of the road like garbage. And worse still, he’d seen people’s spirts broken by finding out that their homes, their loved ones, and their lives as they had known them were gone forever. He guessed he could count himself among those lost souls now. 

He’d been a mess since Peggy had gone missing, but over the past few days he’d become an emotional basket case. Bouncing between anger and sadness, concern and despair. He’d been publically cuckkolded, or at least that’s what everyone was assuming. And Daniel had found himself met with either pity or contempt every time he turned around. The office, where his staff was handling him with kid gloves, was nearly unbearable. He’d either been desperate to find some work to try and keep himself busy, or unable to focus on whatever it was in front of him. And his staff had been doing their best to steer clear of him. Moody and often irritable as he’d been. 

And home hardly felt like a refuge anymore either. His father’s anger at what he perceived to be Peggy’s betrayal was nearly a palpable thing. Even as Daniel told his father that he sincerely doubted the man in the photo Peggy had been kissing was Steve Rogers, his Father’s faith in Peggy seemed to have diminished. As had the rest of his families. “Your sisters called.” His father had told Daniel over dinner the night before. “They’re concerned.” The weight of what that really meant had hung in the air for the rest of the silent meal. 

Daniel couldn’t fault his family for being angry or protective. Hell, he was angry himself. The fact that the compass Rogers' had in the film and what was found in the medical facility didn’t match and the man Peggy had locked lips with hadn’t been tall enough to be the Captain meant nothing; Peggy had been back in the states for two whole days and not so much as lifted a finger to call him. A fact that either enraged Daniel to the point that he’d feel his fists ball and his face redden. Or scared him to the point….just how bad was it if Peggy hadn’t been in touch….that he could feel the bile sitting in the back of his throat.

And all the while there was the nagging sense that even though the evidence pointed to the man in the captain’s uniform with his arm around Peggy and his lips on hers, was not Steve Rogers, Daniel might still be wrong about that. It might just be wishful thinking on his part. And the Captain and Peggy could be married and on a honeymoon at this point for all Daniel knew. He was tired of letting worst case scenarios run amok in his imagination. He was tired of grasping at straws of evidence to try and figure out what was going on.

Why had Peggy not been in touch and put him out of his misery, one way or another? He wasn’t physically going to be able to take this much longer.

Then that morning, he’d arrived at the SSR and realized that someone had searched his office. Nothing had been moved. Nothing had been taken. But he knew someone had been there. Someone had gone through his things. Peggy had accused him on more than one occasion of being obsessively neat, of always putting everything back in its exact place, just so. She wasn’t wrong. Daniel kept his things a certain way, so he’d been able to just tell that everything had been moved, even ever so slightly.

As subtly as he could, he questioned the cover personal in the Phone Company and the building security, but no one had seen anything. So he had asked his staff to inventory the various files and catalogs to make sure nothing was gone. He hadn’t offered any explanation, and left after issuing the order. His agents who were a good lot, were clearly either annoyed or concerned about his seemingly erratic behavior. But they did as they were told. No doubt all of them were tired of walking on egg shells around him.

He’d gone straight home to check on his father. His gut telling him that he just needed to get back to his apartment. If whatever it was that Peggy was dealing with had followed him to work, it may well follow him home as well. And he didn’t feel comfortable sending or trusting anyone else with his dad.

Coming up the hallway, Daniel had paused when he heard voices that we’re clearly just outside his apartment door. Voices that had been speaking lowly, but clearly in some kind of argument. Daniel had immediately flattened himself against the hallway wall, and inching forward to listen in, had drawn his weapon.

“We could tell him about those caramel candy things he likes.”

“Yes, because that’s so specific.” 

“What about all those historical biographies he reads?”

“What about just sitting down and shutting up until he gets home.”

“How about his favor color? Maybe, favorite ice cream flavor?”

The second voice had remained silent.

“Oh, I know! His middle name!”

“You’re joking right? Because that wouldn’t be on public record anywhere.”

“Okay, fine. Then let’s just kick the door in, at least then we’ll be doing something.” 

“You know, sometimes you really live up to your name. Forget about all the attention that would draw, if that really is Sousa’s father in there and we just bust in, if Danny doesn’t kill us, you know who will.”

“He is mean with that damn crutch.” 

Close enough to peak around the corner, Daniel had been relieved to see DumDum Dugan and Jim Morita sitting in front of his door, arguing with each other. 

Reholstering his weapon, he’d turned the corner nearly laughing. “You two idiots could wake the dead.” 

Both of the men, dressed in civilian clothing, had pulled themselves up off the floor at the sight of Daniel. There had been back slaps and handshakes, and Dugan had lifted Daniel near off the ground in a bear hug that knocked the air right out of his lungs. 

“Peggy?” Daniel had asked, both a plea and a prayer. 

Jim had shaken his head. “Not here.” 

Daniel had nodded in understanding, ushering the men to follow him inside. But when he had tried to open the door, it had snap back in his face. The chain locks had been on. 

“Who’s there?” His father had snapped, just visible through the small opening, a skillet he’d clearly been brandishing as a weapon in hand. 

Looking over Daniel’s shoulder through the small crack, DumDum had commented. “Runs in the family, I see.” 

######################################################################

If Howard was Peggy’s family that Daniel had to tolerate, the Howling Commandos were the family he’d gotten in the bargain that he loved. More than just former comrades in arms, when Peggy had first introduced Daniel to them, they’d immediately saw in each other kindred spirits. They’d not all just served, but they’d all been working toward the higher calling of doing some greater good. Of leaving the world a little better place than they had found it. 

The Commandos were young and fun, and inclusive. Playing drinking games and reminiscing about the good times over a cold beer whenever the occasion arose. And they had treated Daniel like one of their own from the beginning. Liking him for himself almost instantly. They weren’t just Peggy’s friends, they were Daniel’s too. And he’d been proud to introduce his father to them, even as his father got some good rips in at DumDum for trying to prove they knew Daniel by yelling his favorite movies and foods through the door.

Dugan and Morita had arrive about a half an hour before Daniel had gotten home. And his father airing on the side of caution hadn’t wanted to just let them in. Telling them to call Daniel, so as to prove they knew him. What ensued was apparently a comedy of errors, as well as a showcasing of how stubborn Dugan could be. As both parties had bunkered down on their sides of the door, Frank unwilling to let them in and Dugan unwilling to relent until he made Daniel’s father believe they knew his son. 

“Telling me he hates the Yankees was next to pointless.” His father had said with a laugh in his voice. “Everyone hates the Yankees.”

But the conversation had gotten heavy fast, when his father had asked, “Peggy?”

“We can’t say much, but she sent us to get Daniel as soon as she could. She’s desperate to see you. Hell, we’re all glad to be bringing you in. We need you.” 

“There’s nothing you can tell us at all? About her and the Captain.” Frank had pressed again.

DumDum had just broken eye contact shaking his head. “It’s all considered high level national security.”

“I see.” His father said clearly not knowing what to make of that. He looked at Daniel, who shook his head. He didn’t know what to make of it either. 

“Is she hurt?” Daniel finally asked, wanting to get at least some idea of Peggy’s condition from them.

“She’s banged up.” Morita had said.

“Meaning she’s hurt.” Daniel had snapped back. “How badly and where?”

“Danny,” DumDum had said not unkindly. “ The best we can do is get you to her as quickly as possible. You have a bug out bag here?”

“SHIELDS already been in touch with the SSR. You’re officially on loan.” Morita had said. “Indefinitely. So you might want to throw some extra clothing into it. You may be gone for a bit.”

“Okay,” Daniel had said, nodding before going into the bedroom to grab the bag. 

Pulling it out from the closet, Daniel had opened it and gave it a quick spot check. Some agents could take off with just a toothbrush, but Daniel’s leg required care. So his go bag wasn’t a luxury, it was a necessity. The bandages and special soap and lotions he needed for his leg had been there, as were the set of special collapsible crutches that Howard had made for him. 

Peggy had ripped them out of Daniel’s hands when Howard had first gifted them to Daniel. Telling her inventor friend that Howard had better be damn sure they’d hold, because if they didn’t and Daniel hit the ground, she’d put Howard six feet under it. Howard had taken them back at that to work on some more. Looking down at them now, Daniel just felt sad. 

Throwing some more bandages and a few extra shirts into the bag, he closed the suitcase and went back into the living room, over hearing the end of yet another conversation. He needed to stop making a habit of that.

“Peggy and my son….” His father had questioned. 

“We can’t……” He’d heard Morita intone, clearly conflicted. 

“But are she and the Captain?” 

“I’m sorry we can’t. It’s just too high level.” Morita had said softly. 

Deliberately cutting off the conversation, Daniel had popped back into the room. And his father had instantly lightened his tone. “Well, with you going, I guess I’ll catch the train home tomorrow.” 

“Uh…….yeah about that.” Dugan had begun tentatively. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. We’re working under the assumption that this is a high risk situation. And we don’t want anyone to follow you home.”

“I see.” His father had replied neutrally. “Should I be concerned about my children and grandchildren back home?”

“We’ll get eyes on them asap to be safe. We didn’t know you were here, but since you are, and your connection to Danny has to be pretty clear, it doesn’t hurt to be over cautious.”

“Is that really necessary?” He father had asked looking at Daniel.

“It is.” Daniel had replied. “I want a sweep on my office and the SSR ordered too.” Daniel had said turning to Dugan. “I have reason to believe they were searched today.”

“Fantastic.” Mortia had said, annoyed but clearly not surprised. Turning to Frank he said. “I think you understand why we’d like to keep you here now and bring someone in to stay with you. We’ll also need to do a swept.”

Dugan had added. “We’ll someone who can both serve as a protection and has a high enough security clearance that if we can get messages to you, that they will be able to relay them.” Dugan had gone on to add. “And someone that Union Jack will approve of.” 

“That’s Peggy.” Morita had clarified at Frank’s perplexed look. 

“What about the British beanpole?” DumDum had suggested. 

“You are not leaving Jarvis to guard my father.” Daniel had said.

“You are absolutely right.” Jim had replied. “Peggy would murder us for that level of incompetence. I meant the other British beanpole. What the hell is his name? Kently? Quently?”

“Bentley.” Daniel had said.

“Any objections to him?” Dugan had asked. 

At Daniel’s head shake, DumDum had said. “Alright, let’s get him down here then.” 

######################################################################

You can’t be in the intelligence field and not hear the stories about ghost agents. Killers who seemingly vanished into thin air once their missions were complete. Trained assassins that never missed their target and never got caught. Sometimes they were real. People trained and deployed with kill missions. Sometimes they were not. Just stories to scare or intimidate or misinform the other side. 

Spooks were nothing new to Daniel, but he’d never heard of the one sometimes called the Red Assassin, sometimes referred to as the Winter Solider before. And even if he had, in a million years, it never would have occurred to him to think that the Red Assassin would be one of their own, or rather had been: The missing and presumed dead James Barnes. 

The Russians had somehow found the MIA Howling Commando and brainwash and torture him into becoming little more than a human weapon. Only active a short time, he’d already had nearly a dozen confirmed hits, likely more. And it seems once the Reds were confident in the Winter Soldier's ability, and their control over him, they’d release him to murder his friends and allies. The people that he cared for most.

Dugan and Morita who loved Barnes like a brother had barely even been able to speak about it. But they had made themselves. As the only file they could give Daniel was on what little was known of the assassin’s history. Everything else that happened over the past month couldn’t been written down. It may never be a in file or report anywhere. Ever.

Under some kind of tortuous mind control, Barnes had been dressed like Captain America and dumped off the Canadian coast. Knowing that Rogers old allies would come running, the Russians had assigned Barnes to take out as many of the old Project Rebirth personal as possible. But Peggy, the new head of SHIELD, had been the main target. 

The Russian plan had gone terribly wrong though because Barnes had taken one look at Peggy, and seemingly “malfunctioned” according to Morita. He’d had his gun aimed directly at her, point blank range, and suddenly started crying, collapsing to the ground. 

Realizing their weapon and their plans had failed, the Russians had tried to extract him. And Peggy, who would never turn her back on a friend, least of all Rogers’ best friend, had hunted them down like dogs. Spending days chasing after him in very harsh conditions. Not stopping until Barnes was in their custody. But when they’d gotten Barnes back, they simply couldn’t have known how damaged he was. What had been done to him. How broken and ruined, and how dangerous he’d become.

“He seemed alright at first.” Dugan had said, leaning further back into the airplane seat. When Daniel had departed with the men, they’d gone straight to an airbase and boarded a private plane, not telling Daniel the destination. 

“Sometimes he’s coherent. Sometimes he’s not.” Morita had continued, as Dugan choked up. “It’s like he’s jumping between personalities. Sometimes he’s himself, but at others….he’s whatever monster the Reds tried to put on top of him. He’s there, but he’s isn't. It’s horrible to see him like this.” 

With DumDum nearly crying, Daniel had reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder reassuring, before starting to put the pieces together himself. “Peggy gave him Rogers’ identity to protect him.” 

DumDum had nodded the conformation. “The word had already gone out that it was Rogers and we thought why the hell not take advantage of that.”

“The Winter Solider,” Morita had said the code name with clear disgust, “is responsible for a lot of high profile hits, including a US senator. It won’t matter if he’s Bucky, tortured and broken and out of his mind. They’d either put him on trial for war crimes, or what I think Peggy is really afraid of, lock him up and experiment on him in some secret lab for the rest of his life.”

“Because of the arm?” Daniel had questioned looking down again at the only file the men could provide him. The dossier on the Red Assassin. It indicated that he’d been reported as having some kind of metal arm. Some incident reports indicated that it gave the Winter Solider superior strength. A witness of two stating that he’s used it to rip through solid metal. 

“No. This isn’t in the file we gave you. Hell, this isn’t in any file, but when Barnes was in Hydra custody, back during the war, he’d been experimented on by Dr Zola.” Morita had said. 

“Experimented on how?” Daniel had asked. 

“We don’t know the details.”

“Does anyone?”

“Besides, Barnes or Steve, when he was alive? Just Peggy.” 

Daniel took a moment to let the weight of that sink in, before asking, “So what’s the plan?”

“Besides keeping Bucky safe and trying to give him a chance to heal, we don’t have one.” DumDum had said. 

“Peggy wanted to bring you in to help figure that out.” Morita had added. “Your closes enough to this to understand it, but you weren’t friends with him. We’re all too close to make the hard choices here.”

Daniel had nodded solemnly. “What does Peggy think?”

Morita had just shake his head. “You’re going to need to talk to her. She’s playing this close to her chest, but she’s clearly broken up about it. I don’t know if anyone ever told you, but she and Bucky were close.”

“Peggy told me.” Daniel had replied. And Peggy had told him about push-up contests and drinking games. About Rogers have to practically carry the both of them home from a bar one night, they’d gotten so sloppy. How they’d tease and joke and roughed about like siblings. Which is how Peggy thought of Barnes, a little brother she was getting through Steve. 

But Daniel also knew that wasn’t what Barnes though of Peggy. Howard had told him drunkenly one night that Barnes thought of Peggy as a hell of a lot more than a sister, and if it hadn’t been for Rogers….

God, why did everyone seem to have to have a thing for Peggy?

######################################################################

The flight had taken them nearly 6 hours to reach the undisclosed SHIELD base, which looked to be in the middle of nowhere. It had been evening when their plane had taken off, so Daniel truly had no idea where he was. The base was minimally staffed with only the people Peggy trusted completely. Dugan had offered to show him to some private quarters to get cleaned-up, but Daniel had declined. Wanting to see Peggy right away. 

They’d just been about to usher him into her office, when a siren had sounded. When Peggy’s staff and Morita and Dugan had taken off, Daniel had just followed suit. He found himself in a viewing room on one side of what clearly must be a two–way mirror. Barnes was strapped down to a bed on the other side of it. Or at least his legs were. He must have gotten his hands free somehow, as there were lab techs on the floor around him. Barnes had one by the neck, with that remarkable, horrible arm. The man’s feet were dangling nearly a foot from the ground. There was screaming and drawn weapons and finally a voice that Daniel had been desperate to hear for nearly a month, rising above it all. 

“James.” Peggy had said, coming in through some kind of side door. “Stop. Let him go.” She rounded on the table and Barnes had turned his head to look at her for a moment before doing as she asked. The lab coat hitting the ground, had crawled across the floor and out the door Peggy had come through. 

Barnes whose face had been contorted in anger, suddenly softened. “Peggy.” He’d nearly been crying, reaching for her. And Peggy had moved to get closer to him, trying to calm and reassure him. 

Barnes had put his hands on Peggy's forearms. Running them up and down her skin as she spoke to him. Up. Down. Up. Down. Gentle and intimate. 

Peggy turned her head briefly to give and order and Daniel got a look at the left side of her face where a spectacular bruise had formed. Turning back to Barnes, she leaned down even more to try and sooth him. All the while, Barnes hands had moved up and down, down and up, Peggy’s arms. 

######################################################################

Daniel had been shown to Peggy’s private office over two hours ago. He’d been notified that his apartment had been swept after Bentley had settled in. No bugs there, but they did find two in his office. One on his phone and the other under his desk. His father, he was told was fine and waiting for any news he could provide. And that he found Bentley to be "charming"; whatever the hell that meant. 

Watching the clock, Daniel had paced as best he could to try and keep the nervous energy in check while he waited. Each minute dragging on for eternity. Then a side door opened and Peggy came through it practically at a run. Her arms open, she ran right at him, wrapping herself around him, knocking them both back onto the desk with such force they hit the floor. Crying and kissing his check, Daniel could just make out his name through her sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to Omnicat who called this in the previous chapter.


	8. Day Twenty-Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested, the [Peggysous Livejournal community](http://peggysous.livejournal.com/) is doing a Secret Santa exchange this year!! If you support the pairing, please consider joining in. We're taking everything from fictions to graphics to videos. And there are limits on the exchange, so it doesn't turn into a time suck. I hope that you'll participate and that you'll consider joining the community. It's a great supportive group. I hope to see you over there. 
> 
> I've got to give another shout out to Paeonia for allowing me to bounce some ideas around with her. She's once again made this a stronger piece. If you've not checked out her works, you should. Her on going chapter pieces [Lonely Town](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5006851/chapters/11505181) and [Quo Vadis?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3804475/chapters/8475841) are well worth reading.
> 
> Also, a quick warning. There is some bad language in this chapter. Soldiers curse folks.

Peggy’s private quarters had been well light and freshly painted, but they’d also been very bare. After the meeting in the main conference room that had lasted most of the day, Peggy had explained to Daniel that the facility wasn’t supposed to be in use for another six months. Leaving it with an odd mix of new, unfinished and old decor. 

Sparsely furnished, Peggy’s room, for whatever reason, had a huge bed in it. Large enough for three or four. They could have spread themselves out on the bed with room to spare, but after Daniel had settled on the end of it to undo his prosthesis, Peggy had curled into his side. Pulling him back down with her, so her head rested on his chest. It had been late in the evening by then. And it had been a long day, in a series of long days, but Daniel knew that neither of them were likely going to get much rest. 

############################################

In contrast, the conference room where the meeting had happened earlier that day, had been cluttered with furniture. But it had all been very old and worn, likely stuff that had been in use since before the first war. When Peggy and Daniel had entered, the head of the table had been left sitting open. Clearly for Peggy, who before sitting down like the boss she so clearly was, had gestured to Jim Morita who would have been on her left. One elegant flick of her wrist and the seat had been emptied for Daniel to take. 

That left Philips on her right. The rest of the table had been the core of Rogers’ old squad: DumDum Dugan; Gabe Jones. James Falsworth. As well as two SHIELD agents that Daniel did not know. Howard Stark had also been there, even as he’d still not completely recovered from the Russian gas.

Peggy had begun by saying. “I’d like to remind everyone that there will be no notes of this meeting. No record that this or many of the things that have transpired over the past few weeks will ever be made. We are here to discuss what will be reported, and more specifically and importantly how we will protect and care for Sergeant James Barnes in the wake of his sudden return.” 

############################################

“I’d really thought it was Steve.” Peggy had said, voice high and tight with emotion. So very different from the authoritative and confident tone she’d used in the conference room with the others earlier that day. “I couldn’t imagine how such a thing would be possible….what it would even mean. It had felt like a waking dream, until I had gotten there and found James, or what was left of him, instead. The entire thing would have been comical….they’d dyed his hair blond and put him in Steve’s suit, like he’d been dressed for Halloween….and he’d drawn his gun on me before I could even register what was going on.”

Peggy had paused to take a deep breath, to try and calm and stead herself.

“He’d had me at point blank range. I should be dead, Daniel. I shouldn’t be here.” She’d given his hand a tight squeeze, but instead of looking at him she’d turned her face into his neck. So he’d felt each puff of her breath as she said, “I’d frozen stupid and solid at the sight of him. He could have, should have, shot me, but he didn’t. He’d actually foamed at the mouth. Then he’d hit the ground screaming like he was in agonizing pain. And then all hell broke loose, and before any of us could come to our senses, the Russians had him.”

############################################

“It unquestionably goes without saying that the biggest mistake we made was underestimating how sincerely and completely they fucked him up.” Col Philips had said, sadly shaking his head.

“Are you joking?” James Falsworth had replied. “The Reds practically caught us with our pants down in that Canadian facility. Every one of us should be dead. Standing there like idiots with our mouths hanging open.”

“Well, given we’d all just seen someone back from the dead, and a completely different person back from the dead than we expected, I think we can be excused for being a bit shocked.” DumDum had chimed in angrily, before turning to Peggy, clearly seeking approval. “Because correct me if I am wrong, but what’s important now isn’t lessons learned, but how we are going to re-write what happened to protect Bucky?”

“You are correct, Sergeant.” Peggy had replied, ending any further conversational drifts. “Let’s keep to the task at hand.” 

############################################

“I didn’t even think, Daniel. It didn’t require thought. It was James. Alive. We went after him. We were going to get him back.”

Daniel had nodded in understanding, expecting no less from Peggy.

“Communication was absolute shit. I mean the weather made a German winter seem like spring time. The radio really had been patchy for days. And we’d been in near constant motion, scared to rest, scared to lose their trail. They’d been moving so quickly, the Russians, I mean. They had these modified snow bikes….gear the likes of which I’ve never seen….” 

Daniel had known how she’d like to have finished that thought: it had been gear that Peggy clearly wanted. But she’d cleared her throat, getting herself back on track. “When we finally got through to command and that order came in, I was livid. I couldn’t believe it. I was disgusted. I mean even if they’d actually knew it was Bucky and not Steve….” 

“I saw the report. Recover or kill. It was pretty cold blooded.” 

Peggy jerked in his arms briefly, clearly angry. “I saw the damnable thing too. Recover or kill? Those bastards. It had been a straight up kill order, Daniel. A sniper hit ordered directly from Washington. They didn’t want to run the risk, any risk, of Steve in Red hands.” She paused a moment, calming herself. “We were in 20 below weather, moving further north. My official story will always be static and frozen radio controls.”

“You ripped the dials off didn’t you, Peg?”

“Static and frozen radio controls.” 

############################################

“The best we can assume is that they’d thought they’d lost us.” Jones had said, steering the conversation back on course. Peggy had signaled him, and he’d pulled a large map from a compartment in the wall, pointing to the location of the Russian base in the Northwest Passage. “They’d made several loops around the facility before finally entering it, likely trying to make sure we were off their trail.”

“We’d been smart about going in. Gave them some time to set-up a watch. Waited for cover of night. Getting Bucky back was our priority. How they hell were we supposed to know that they had what was practically a atomic arsenal in our backyard?” DumDum had said. 

“And more frighteningly, that even with all of those weapons, Sergeant Barnes was still the thing they considered to be the most valuable.” Col Philips had added. 

############################################

“You probably know more about what was there than I do, if you read the official report. I still haven’t.”

“A-bombs and their making. And some other nasty things.” Daniel had told Peggy, tightening his arm around her. Truly scared at the thought of those weapons so close to U.S. soil.

He’d felt Peggy nod. “I’d assumed. Especially since the Russians sent a team back to destroy the base, not realizing that we’d left Howard and a group of our own to catalogue it.” A beat. Then she pulled back to look at Daniel, leaning on her elbow to do so. “This entire thing has been a bloody horrible nightmare, but I do have to tell you, I would have paid good damn money to hear Howard blather like an idiot.” 

“It was certainly interesting.” Daniel had said, learning on a break that Edwin Jarvis, who’d not been part of the meeting but had been onsite to tend to Howard, had seemed more than a little perturbed at being referred to as an eggroll. Something that Stark had apparently called Jarvis to his face under the influence of the gas. 

“He thinks I am long and to tightly wound apparently,” Jarvis had said, raising his nose to the air in clear irritation. “Which is interesting commentary from anyone willing to wear that abysmal mustache.” 

############################################

“Queen of my heart.” Howard had begun, his face instantly turning beat red, when he realized just how he’d addressed Peggy. The room had already been a rapt attention, but Howard’s endearment had left it in an uncomfortable silence. Stark had spoken it with clear and genuine affection, which had seemingly embarrassed the hell out of him. 

“Yes, my darling friend.” Peggy had replied gently, smiling affectionately and indulgently at Howard.

He’d smiled back for a moment, clearly relieved, before turning serious and professional again. “Madam Director, as I know we’re trying to keep this all off record, this wasn’t in the report that was officially filed about that facility. But I thought you should know that it looked like some of the equipment we came across might have been used to…” Howard had to pause, clearly struggling for the right word. “….control Barnes in some way.”

Peggy had leaned forward, clearly interested.

“But it was destroyed when the Russians blew the base.” 

Peggy had dropped back in her seat, clearly not surprised, but still angry and disappointed.

###########################################

“When we finally caught up to them, and actually took James into custody, it had nearly been comical.” Peggy had shifted again, laying back down, but keeping eye contact with Daniel. “The blonde dye was running out of his hair, dying his skin. He’d looked like he’d had an accident with finger paint. And he’d curled himself up in a corner like a child, as we secured the Russian team. Coming over to me when I held out my hand to him, like a little boy getting ready to cross the street with his mother.”

############################################

“Once we had Bucky, safe and secure, we actually had time to fight with the comm. To get it back up.” Gabe had said. 

“And did you use it to call back to base?” One of the agents from SHEILD had asked.

“Hell, no.” Gabe had replied, “We used it to get word to the press that Captain Steve Rogers had been found alive. We gave that news a good few hours to hit the papers and then we called command telling them we were bringing him home.”

############################################

“Why didn’t you contact me then?” Daniel had asked, sounding as angry about it as he’d felt. “You could have tried to get a coded message through once you had the comm up. Jesus, Peggy, I was out of my damn mind with worry.”

She’d continued to look down at him, surprise etched on her features. “Daniel, you know that I couldn’t possibly have used that comm to contact you. There would have been too much of a risk for interception on either side. Coded or not. So I did the best thing I could think of by leading you to Howard once I heard he was evaced. I didn’t know that he’d been hit by that gas. I thought he’d be able to bring you up to speed on everything.”

“Wait. What? The telegram came from you?” Daniel had asked in confusion, sitting up on his elbows. “The Western Union said a man sent it and it had a q on it, not a p.”

“Of course it did. I didn’t actually send it. Quentin would have had to.”

“Who the hell is Quentin?” 

Peggy had pulled even further back to look at him. Her hand on his chest and her eye searching his. “Are you being serious? Daniel, now is not the time to joke about.”

“I’m not joking. Who is Quentin?”

Peggy had pulled back even more, clearly startled. “Quentin Bentley. My aid.”

At Daniel’s look of confusion, Peggy had snapped. “Daniel! How could you not know his first name? You’d gotten so drunk with the man at the party where we’d celebrated my appointment, you’d both stood on the bar singing Andrews Sisters songs.”

Daniel had felt his face heat up. He had been rip-roaring drunk at that party. He’d just been so damn proud of Peggy and thrilled by the fact that she was finally getting the recognition and respect she deserved. He’d bought round after round of drinks for people. All of which he’d imbibed in himself. And he honestly couldn’t recall large parts of the evening. 

Peggy had smacked him on the chest and not very gently, knocking Daniel flat against the bed again.

“Daniel! Quentin is going to be heartbroken! He talks about you all the bloody damn time and how much he admires and respects you.” She’d said before throwing herself alongside of him on the bed in frustration. “Crikey O'Reilly! Daniel, you are never to drink Irish whiskey and Russian Vodka in the same evening ever again.”

############################################

“We had to tell him who he was. He was disoriented, but responsive. No indication that he would be violent.” Morita had begun. “At least not at first.” 

“He’d kept repeating his name, over and over, as if he’d been trying to remember it.” DumDum had added. 

“Then the incident happened.” Gabe Jones had said, looking at Peggy. He’d clearly been waiting for her to take over the telling, but she’d just sat there, still and staring. Daniel felt, knew, that he’d been missing something. 

But Jones, taking the hint had cleared his throat and continued. “We don’t know what it was that set him off, but something clear had….triggered it. The three men on night watch were found incapacitated later. Knocked out dead cold. Everyone else didn’t know what was going on until we heard the tussle between Director Carter and Barnes. It looked like it was one hell of a struggle.” He’d briefly turned to look at Peggy, staring at her black eye. But her hard look had him move on though, very quickly. “I’m not sure if I had been fighting that hard for what was clearly my life, if I could have NOT shot him. And I’m saying that as someone who would lay down my life for Barnes.”

“We’re all glad you’ve got a cooler head and better wits than us Madam Director.” Dugan has added with clear sincerity and respect. 

############################################

“If you had a gun, Peggy, dear God, why didn’t you used it?” Daniel had said, not so much in anger, but in disbelief. 

“Because I couldn’t. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing, Daniel. Whatever they did to him has him out of his right mind. It wasn’t his fault. None of this is. He’s my friend and there is no way that I could…he needs help….and I promised…” There’d been a pause, as Peggy’s voice had cracked with deep emotion, “I promised Steve that I would take care of James if anything ever happened to him. So there is no way I could ever….”

Daniel had always known that involving himself with Peggy had meant that from time to time, he’d have to pay some deference to the ghost of Steve Rogers. That he’d have to tread gently where the Captain’s memory was concerned and that notion had never bothered him before: the thought of being respectful and honoring a good man’s memory. But this had been a different thing entirely. Peggy’s life had been at risk, and certainly Rogers would never have meant for her to be hurt for the sake of any promise. Daniel knew enough of how much the Captain had loved her to know that for certain. Just as he, instinctually, knew that now had not been the moment to bring that up with Peggy. 

“That's when I figured out that I could sort of….” Peggy had paused clearly searching for the right word. “Influence him. For whatever reason, James listens to me, so long as I am able to look him in the eye. It’s like I can call him back to himself, somehow. Remind him of who he was. It’s not his fault, Daniel.” She’d insisted to him. “Really. Sometimes he just becomes whatever kind of monster that they'd tried to make him. But he’s fighting it. He’s trying. James is still in there somewhere. And we have to get him back.”

############################################

“So, of course, the press had shown up the exact moment we’d been boarding the boat home.” Jim Morita had said in clear disgust. 

“Price of inviting the vultures to the party.” Howard had chimed in. Everyone had stared at him for a moment. “Hey, that’s not the damn gas talking. You used the press to put word out that it was Rogers, what the hell did you think was going to happen? Of course, they were going to jump on the story. Someone must have tipped them off that you were bringing Cap home from that dock. You’re lucky that someone thought to put them in that uniform to disguise him.”

“It had been the Director’s call.” Col. Philips had said. 

Stark had nodded, “You made some good decisions that day.” Which had been the closest anyone had come to referencing that kiss. “But all it’s really bought us is time. The people of America are still expecting to see the Captain and you know the movers and shakers are going to want a piece of him too. So, the question is what do we do now?”

############################################

“I understand that there are people out there that would try use Barnes for their own gain, but I don’t understand all of this secrecy and paranoia. Peggy, why didn’t you just take him back to SHIELD headquarters? Surely the resources there would have been more useful. And they’re all your people.”

Peggy had just looked at Daniel with an expression of both wonder and sadness. “Oh my love,” She’d said touching his check. “Sometimes I think while you’re not too good for this world, you are too good for this job. Daniel, SHIELD has moles. I didn’t want anyone close to this that I wouldn’t trust with my own life, let alone James'.”

Daniel’s brow had creased in confusion. “You’ve got traitors? Peggy, if you know who they are why aren’t you clearing them out?”

“Because the ones I do know about we are feeding misinformation to and the ones I don’t, I obviously can’t remove. And it’s not like we don’t have our own double agents as well. Daniel, we’re heading to a war like we’ve never seen before with the soviets, I think. We’ll have traitors and betrayals and double crosses on all sides before this is through. I can’t control all of my people or guarantee that they are loyal. SHIELD is too big for that. The best I can do as Director is make sure the agency as a whole doesn’t lose its purpose, which is to protect and defend the freedoms we cherish.” She rolled on her back, looking blindly at the ceiling and away from Daniel. “And I just hope that no matter what I’ll eventually have to do to protect us, that I never lose sight of that.” There’d been a lengthy pause, before she’d looked over to him again. “And I know one day I’ll need you to remind me of what my real goals and purpose should be. When that time comes Daniel, please….do what you need to do to call me back to myself.” 

############################################

“Whatever we decide, I think it’s a disservice to Captain Rogers' memory to continue this farce.” One of SHIELD’s people had said. “Giving Barnes his name, I mean.”

“And I think that those of us that knew him should have more right to make that call.” DumDum had said, glaring the agent down with an icy stare. “He loved Barnes like a brother. And if letting people think that it was him and not Barnes that came back is going to keep Bucky safe, he’d be the first person to tell us to do it.” Dugan had added. 

Their had been nods from all of the Commandos at that. 

“I think we need to look at this from both the short and long term perspective.” Col. Philips had begun. “Which means right now I think figuring out how to get us out of that damn parade is priority one.”

There had been nods at that as well, but no ideas. Until clearing his throat Howard had said. “I have an idea. But I don’t think everyone is going to like it.” He’d been looking directly at Daniel.

“Go ahead, Howard.” Peggy had prompted. 

Clearing his throat and looking away from Daniel, Howard had said. “I think we need to get you hitched Madam Director.”

############################################

“It’s not a bad idea.” Peggy had said with a heavy sigh. 

“You’ll forgive me, if as your actual fiancé, that I don’t agree.”

“Daniel. Please.” She’d intoned, shifting herself so she was nestled against his chest again. “I wouldn’t actually be marrying him. We’d use a pseudonym for the newspapers and the license. And we’d forge the paper work. This was discussed.” 

And it had been discussed, in detail. And while Daniel couldn’t argue that Stark’s plan wasn’t clever, it was the last damn thing he’d wanted to hear. Stark’s suggestion had been that under the name of Betty Carver (God that stupid radio program), Peggy “marry” Bucky, who they’d continue to pose as the Cap. 

“A shot gun wedding to the love of his life and whirlwind honeymoon would get us the hell of that stupid parade.” Howard had said in the conference room. “We’d leak just enough photos and info to the press to satiate public curiosity. Then we’d follow it up, real soon, with the announcement of his new wifey being in the family way. Wouldn’t take much to ask for and actually get some privacy then.” 

And Stark, of course, hadn’t been wrong. It could work. Saying that the “Cap”, after serving and sacrificing so much, had decided to return to being an everyman and live a quiet life. People would be respectful of that. It was the post-war dream that so many G.I.s had wanted to come home to, after all. Yes, it could work. 

“Daniel.” Peggy had said, shifting a bit calling him back to her. “Howard’s suggestion wouldn’t effect us.” Daniel had swallowed audibly and nodded slightly. Before Daniel had even been able to raise an argument in the conference room, Peggy’s jerk of a friend had cut him off with a solutions to the questions that Daniel hadn’t even been able to verbalize yet.

Stark had pointed out that even with the photo of her in the paper, most people didn’t know that Peggy had been the Cap’s girl. Not anyone from a distance anyway. She and Rogers and Philips had made sure that it had never hit any of the files or records. Even the image of Peggy in that compass from the war film had been little more than a flash. And Peggy’s face had not been visible in that more recent newspaper photo. It could have been any slim, beautiful brunette kissing the “Cap”. No one in the general public need to know that it was Peggy Carter, under an assumed name, marrying the fake Captain. 

But Daniel and Peggy moved and lived in the inner circle where everyone knew that Rogers and Peggy had been a couple. Where the assumption was already that Peggy had leaped back into Rogers arms. But Stark, naturally, had an answer for that too. It would be leaked within the inner sphere that the marriage had been a rouse. That Rogers had come back “damaged” somehow and the fake “marriage” had been arranged so he could be hidden safely away. 

Peggy and Daniel would still be able to marry. Eventually. After some time had passed and the public had lost interest. But it had been a bitter thought and a pill Daniel didn’t want to swallow. 

“I know you don’t like it, Daniel.” She’d said, scooting over to him. “We’ll come up with a better option. It’s just the best we have right now. We’ll hit it again tomorrow, when everyone is fresh.”

Daniel had ground his teeth. Stark's proposal had been discussed at length and in detail. Everyone who’d come out of that conference room had seemed convinced it was the way to go. Before adjourning, Peggy had told them all to come to the table tomorrow with other options, which he didn’t doubt they would. But even hearing discussion of Stark’s stupid idea given such credence for nearly a whole day had Daniel’s blood boiling. 

Then again his anger had been simmering for three weeks now. Lying there with Peggy, who Daniel realized had fallen asleep on him, exhausted as she was, it had only just occurred to him how angry he was with her. Nearly a month and no word. The circumstances had been extenuating for sure, but now that the relief of seeing her again had worn off, it occurred to Daniel just how livid he was. 

Peggy had been damn relived to see him for sure. But she’d offered him no real reassurances of any kind. No declarations or oath or promises that he was still the most important man in her life. Everything had been about Barnes since he’d gotten here. And the notion that he’d be left out of something, something about Barnes assault on Peggy, combined with the image of Barnes’s hands sliding up and down Peggy’s arms so intimately, had him seeing red. 

Daniel pulled himself up and decided to get some air. He needed to think about just what he was going to say to Peggy and how he was going to say it. 

He wasn’t going to be a doormat about this, he had a right to say what he wanted…needed.....to say to her about how hurt and anger he was. How abandoned he’d felt. But he also didn’t want angry accusations to ruin things between them either. He needed some time to think. Deciding to give his stump a rest, he’d grabbed Howard’s double crutches and left Peggy passed out on the bed. 

############################################

The facility, half-finished as it had been, was hard to navigate. Especially for someone on two crutches and one leg. Daniel hadn’t been able to find any door to the outside. But he did manage to find a kitchen. And when his stomach had rumbled when he’d seen it, he’d gone right in and decided to help himself.

But since the universe hated him, Stark had wandered in and found him just as he’d been finishing making a sandwich. 

“Captain Morgan!” Stark had said by way of greeting.

“That had better be the gas talking still, Howard, or I swear I will stab you with this knife.”

“It’s a butter knife, Daniel. But then again you probably do know how to kill me with it. Both you and Peggy sure know how to make seemingly innocuous objects into weapons.” 

Daniel had sighed, turning back to his sandwich. He’d not been I the mood to deal with anyone at the moment. Least of all Stark. Howard naturally hadn’t taken the hint that Daniel’s stone cold silence and angry demeanor would have given a normal person. 

“I’ve got to say, you’re doing a lot better with this than I would be if I were in your shoes.”

Daniel had continued to ignore him. Slapping the bread end on his sandwich angrily. 

“Geez, Peg must have some kind of saint radar. Both you and Rogers are really something else. If someone had tried to rape my girl, out of his mind or not, I’d not be this damn calm about it."

Daniel had suddenly felt completely disconnected from his body. He’d put the knife down and turned to face Stark, but he didn’t feel himself do those things. “What?”

Howard had looked at him for a moment. Then blinked at him stupidly. “Oh. Shit. She didn’t tell you…..Daniel….”

One quick flip of his crutch and Howard’s back had been pressed against the counter, Daniel’s other crutch against his throat. 

“Talk.” Daniel had said low and threateningly. 

“Maybe you ought to ask Peggy….” Stark had made a squeaking noise when Daniel had pressed his crutch more firmly against his neck.

“I’m asking you. Now tell me what you know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop me a line if you're enjoying this and let me know what you think. Us writer live for comments and kudos. Keeps us motivated. :)


	9. Day Twenty-Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long gap between postings. We're one chapter away from the end, so thank you to everyone for sticking around.

His crutch hit the floor with a bang that resonated throughout the room. Daniel hadn’t actually meant to throw it on the ground, but the damn thing had been folding up on itself as he’d made his way back to Peggy’s private quarters. Another one of Stark's maddening and malfunctioning inventions, it had been a gut reaction to just slam it down in frustration. He’d been so damned angry.

Startled, Peggy had jumped off the bed and had her side arm, which had been sitting on the bed side table, drawn on him in a second flat. Once she’d realized it was him, she’d sighed heavily and lowered it. “Daniel, I could have damn near shot you. What are you making a ruckus about?”

It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself, “So you’ll draw a gun on me in a heartbeat, but Barnes gets a free pass. Good to know where I stand.”

Peggy had blinked at him momentarily. She’d been running on empty for a long time, physical exhausted and mentally taxed. And Daniel had woken her up from the first deep sleep she’d probably had in a long while, so it had taken her a second to pick up the plot.

But when she did, she’d reacted exactly as Daniel knew she would: instantly trying to vie for control. Moving to sit on the end of the bed, she’d patted a spot beside her. “I can explain, Daniel. Please, do sit down.”

“No.” He’d snapped back angrily, wobbling a bit. Without the second crutch and without his prosthesis, his balance was nearly non-existence. But he’d fall flat on his face before he’d give her an inch.

“Daniel, do be reasonable. You’ll fall over.” It had been said with real, genuine concern. But for whatever reason, it only made Daniel’s barely surpressed rage burn brighter and hotter.

“You don’t get to sit my down and placating weave a tale for me, Peggy. Or sit there calmly and try to make it seem that you had any damn good reason at all to lie to me about something so monumental.”

“Daniel, you have to understand….”

“Do I?” He’d snapped. “You’ve been gone for nearly a month. I was worried out of my damn mind. Thinking the entire time that Rogers was back and that we were done. All the while, praying and hoping that you were safe, even if the very first thing you did when I saw you again was end things between us.”

Daniel saw raw, painful emotions flash across Peggy’s face, but he didn’t stop to acknowledge them. “I had ever reason to be heartbroken, but you and your safety were still my primary concern.  And then you finally get around to calling for me and without so much as a word to assure me that I wasn’t going to be cast aside like a used sock, you lie to my face. Because despite nearly forcing himself on you, the only person you seem to give a shit about at the moment is Barnes.”

“Daniel. He’s out of his god damn mind. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing….”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But you’re completely in your senses, Peggy. So what the hell is your excuse?”

Bristling, but clearly still trying to get the upper hand, she’d begun. “Daniel, I should not have to explain to you what a sensitive and high level security issue all of this is. As SHIELD’s Director, I had to-“

“Don’t you god damn dare and try to make this about work! You not telling me what he nearly did to you had absolutely nothing to with security clearances or you outranking me now. I’m not one of your agents. Hell, I am not even one of your colleagues. I’m your partner. You owed me, owed us, more than this.”

That had shut Peggy up good and completely. 

“Jesus, I don’t even think this is about your nearly single-minded desire to do everything on your own, just to prove that you can. You either don’t trust me, or what may actually be worse, don’t figure that I factor in in anyway.”

 “No!” Peggy had cried bouncing off the bed to stand in front of him. “No. Daniel. Please. Please understanding. I needed for you to be on James’ side. To help take his part and….”

“So you manipulated me?”

Sighing heavily, Peggy cleared her throat, and then surprised him, by saying. “Yes. Yes, I did, Daniel. And I am so very, very sorry for that. But please, hear me out at least.”

“Oh, now you want to talk.”

“Daniel, don’t be childish.”

“Then don’t treat me like one.” He’d exploded and then lost his balance. He’d managed to somehow stagger back and land against the wall. Peggy had been instantly in front of him. Steadying him and then reaching down for his second crutch. She’d expertly snapped it back straight and handed it over to him.

“I’m sorry.” She’d said. No other explanation. No excuses.  “Not telling you was wrong.”

“That may not be enough.”

Peggy’s mouth had fallen open, but no words came out. She’d look down, gathering her thoughts.

But Daniel really didn’t feel like giving her an opening. So he asked what had been nagging at him most. “Why didn’t you shot him?” He asked it so softly, at first he’d not been sure she even heard him. “Howard said you had a gun when he attacked you. Why....why the hell didn’t you use it?”

“I couldn’t” Peggy had said tearing up and shaking her head. “I couldn’t have lived with myself. What if I hit something vital? I thought, I knew, I could fight him off. And I did.”

“But what if you hadn’t?”

“Daniel, I did.”

“I saw what that thing in there can do, Peggy. He’s more monster now than man. And you can’t see that. It could have just as easily gone the other way.”

“Daniel, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you’d be angry and….”

“You think? Of course, I’m angry! Something terrible nearly happened to you and you didn’t tell me. Didn’t trust me enough to listen to you and hear you out. To try and understand things form your point of view. Which I guess isn’t surprising, is it? You never seem to think of things from my perspective. So how could I possibly consider something from yours!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, I seem to be a god damn afterthought to you. Tell me, how often was I on your mind when you were trekking after Barnes? Did it even occur to you that I was worried sick? Thinking that you and Captain America were off on your happy ending somewhere, and you couldn’t even be bothered to tell me that you were alive and okay? Or how about the fact that since the moment I got here, everything has been all about protecting Barnes. You haven't given so much as a passing thought as to how hard this has been on me, have you?”

“I’m sorry, Daniel, that with a brained-washed, weaponized POW on my hands, I didn’t have time to kowtow to your fragile male ego!”

“Peggy, you don’t get to flip this around! You’re in the wrong here. And you know it. You owed me more than this. You owed me the god damn truth, whether I fell into your line of thinking or not. And you owed it to yourself to protect yourself from what was nearly done to you. Jesus, Peggy. How could you not have just shot the bastard?”

“Because I couldn’t have lived with myself. Even if something had happened….well it would have been the lesser of two evils. I’d rather that….than have to live with hurting Bucky.”

“But you can live with lying to me?”

She’d looked utterly stricken, but made no reply.

Daniel slammed one of his crutches into the wall angrily. “Well, it’s good to know what I actually mean to you then.” He’d snapped, turning to leave, sick at the sight of her.  

“Daniel-“ She’d cried after him, starting to follow, but then stopping at the look he’d thrown her over his shoulder as he crutched his way out the door.

Heavy and metal as it was, he could hear Peggy sobbing as he made his way down the hall.

######################################################

Before his injury, Daniel used to be a pacer. When something bothered him, when something was on his mind, he’d take a walk or turn circles around his desk. After he’d lost his leg, he’d had to learn other ways to cope. Playing with things in his hands, making lists, throwing stuff. So Daniel knew he was really upset, when he’d found he’d angrily stormed halfway down the compound unthinkingly. Trying to walk his frustrations away, while balancing precariously on Stark’s two crappy crutches and without his prosthesis.

The sheer exertion had him sweating and breathing heavy, but he hadn’t felt any better for the exercise. Especially, since he was going to have to get himself back. Looking about, he’d realized he wandered over into the area Barnes was being held. Peggy had tripled the security on him, both in and outside of his room.

If the heavily armed guards had been surprised or alarmed to see Daniel, they certainly hadn’t shown it. Two of them had just nodded their greeting. One had addressed him directly. “Director Sousa, sir.” He’d said with a head nod.

Clearly not about to be kicked out, Daniel had moved himself over to the double-sided mirror to get a look at Barnes. They’d strapped the man to the table with metal chains this time. Wrapped round and round him, sort of like a mummy. It couldn’t be comfortable for him, flat on his back like that. But after seeing what Barnes had done when he first arrived, Daniel wondered if it was frankly enough.

The man was like a rabid dog. What happened to him wasn’t his fault, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous to the people around him. Peggy and the Commandos may well be to too close to him to make the right choices regarding him.

He knew that Barnes technically shouldn’t have been able to see him through mirror, but the man had turned his head as if to stare back at Daniel. As if to look him in the eye directly. It was unnerving. And then, Daniel saw Barnes mouth something. And even without knowing how to read lips, he’d known Barnes had been talking to him. And Daniel had known exactly what the man had said to him, what Barnes had called him:

Usurper.

Daniel had heard it as clearly as if he’d been standing in the room with Barnes. Without even thinking, he’d walked over and taken the handle that led into Barnes’ room. It took a moment for him to realize that no one was trying to stop him. Then another to remember that one of the first orders Peggy had issued upon his arrival was that as the Director of the SSR, he be treated with the same courtesy and deference that she was as the Director of SHIELD. Meaning the same access and the ability to give orders.

So he opened the door and stepped right on through. Barnes had lifted his head as he entered. He’d barred his teeth at Daniel in a way that looked partly like threat, partly like a sneer of disgust.

“A gimp.” Barnes had said, pointedly looking at Daniel’s missing leg. “She went from Steve to you? Jesus Christ. And they keep telling me I’m the one who’s crazy. Peggy get hit on the head with something hard while I was away?”

Daniel had moved closer to Barnes at that instinctively. He’d never had the urge to bash a restrained man’s head in before, but there it was. One of the guard in the room had shuffling his feet a bit. Reminding Daniel that that they were there and Barnes was dangerous. And that Daniel had stupidly come here without his prosthesis on, using Stark’s malfunctioning crutches.

“Let me settle if for you now, punk.” Barnes had continued, seemingly not concerned about the five semi-automatic guns pointed at him. “If it had been Steve and not me, well, they’d be off on their honeymoon by now. And you wouldn’t even be a second thought. How the hell could you be? I mean, most people know about Steve’s famous stamina right? Let’s just say he’d be giving in to her so good and hard that…..”

Daniel had banged one of Stark’s crutches on the ground to shut him up. The sound of metal hitting tile had reverberated through the room for more than a good moment. Barnes had just smiled at him cruelly.

Then his face had contorted somehow. He’d coughed violently and then started pulling manically at his restraints. “Where am I? What is this place?” Barnes had cried out in clear confusion. “Steve? Steve? Peggy? I’m….what is this place? Who are you?”

Daniel had just looked at him, completely stunned by the sudden change. He’d understood from the others that Barnes was facilitating between lucid and unhinged. But seeing it, how bad it really was, was something else entirely.

“Wait. Wait. Don’t tell me. I think I remember. I-“ Barnes had started to sob. “Steve’s dead. Hydra had me. They made me do things….but Peggy.....Peggy saved me. Where’s Peggy? I want to see Peggy. I promised Steve….” His words had gotten swallowed up by his gasping, gagging cries.

Daniel had never felt so much pity, so much sorrow, for anyone in his life. He’d read Barnes record. He knew the man had been brave and loyal. And a friend to so many. To see him reduced to this…..It gave Daniel a better understanding of Peggy’s desperation to help him, even if Daniel wasn’t sure that he could ever forgive her for lying to him the way she had.

Even more disheartened than when he’d come here, and knowing there was nothing he could do to help Barnes, Daniel had turned to go.

“You’re Daniel Sousa, aren’t you?”

Turning back to face him, Barnes had seemed to have calmed himself a bit. He'd looked thin and sad and broken.

“Yes, I am.”

“You're Peggy’s fiancé.”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Barnes had said with a clear amount of pain in his voice. “Jimmy and DumDum say you’re a good guy…it’s just…if it couldn’t be Steve....I always assumed…I always hoped it might…….be me.”

Daniel had no idea what to say to that.

“She’s a hell of a woman, isn’t she?” Barnes had continued. “Saving the world and breaking asshole’s noses without a hair out of place and in heels to boot.”

Daniel had just nodded.

“You’re one lucky guy. To have landed her, I mean. She could have her pick of the litter….so you must be something.”

Daniel still had no reply.  

“Can you promise me something?” Barnes had said so lowly, Daniel had to step closer to hear. “Take good care of her. I know she doesn’t need it, but I promised Steve….I promised that if anything ever happened to him, I’d do my best to look after her. And since it looks like I’m not in much of a position to do that, you’re going to have to do it for us both.”

Daniel felt the full weight of that. Not just the pledge of comrades in arms, but the vows of friendship too. The notion that somehow from his grave, Steve Rogers was still trying to take care of his girl. And even as he was mad at Peggy, even as he wasn’t sure what was going to happen between them, Daniel had said honestly, “I promise.”

“For the rest of your life?”

“Yes.”

“No matter how long that is?”

“You have my word.”

“Well, then I guess it’s a damn good thing that won’t be a long time!” Barnes had said, springing off the table before Daniel had realized what was happening. Or just how close he’d been standing to Barnes. There were gunshots, but Barnes using the chains, he’d somehow ripped off himself like a whip, had knocked the guns from the guard’s hands with practiced ease.

Barnes then through the guards across the room like rag dolls. Taking them all out in a few short seconds. Heaving the table he’d been laying on against the door to keep the other guards out, he’d then turned his attention to Daniel.

Daniel had swung one of his crutches up to defend himself, and Barnes had actually outright laughed. Wrenching it from Daniel’s hand and crumpling it into a ball with that horrible metal arm. 

“You’re in my way.” He’d said to Daniel. “And being that you’re not much, it’s not going to take much to remove you.” He then kicked at Daniel’s good leg, knocking it out from under him. Daniel had hit the ground like a sack of bricks. Barnes on top of him in an instant, hands immediately at Daniel’s throat, strangling him.

Daniel begun betting at Barnes with his remaining crutch to absolutely no avail. 

“Can’t do much of anything without that now can you, cripple.” Barnes had said, releasing his pressure on Daniel’s neck ever so briefly. Which was all Daniel needed to push himself up a bit, and pull at the chain that had been wrapped around Barnes ankle. Daniel twisted it at an angle that result in the snap of bone and a scream of pain from Barnes.

Kicking himself clear, Daniel began to crawl to the door. He could hear a commotion outside. Peggy’s people trying to get in. He just needed to buy himself some time. When Barnes came at him again Daniel was ready, hitting the man in the face with some of the chains that had so ineffectually held him. It had stunned Barnes for a moment, but not nearly long enough. When Daniel swung the chains again, Barnes had gapped them and snapped them in half like a twig.

He then pulled Daniel towards him by his stumped leg. Squeezing on the bone in an agonizing way, before pushing Daniel’s remaining crutch against his neck with vicious force and straddling him. Daniel had thrashed about, trying to fight him off, but he could feel himself loosing consciousness, the black beginning to take him.  

“You’re not good enough for her!” Barnes had snarled. Daniel could feel his lungs tighten in their last effort to get air.

Then six shots had fired. One right after the other. No hesitation between them. Barnes had collapsed down on top of him. Limp and bleeding from the bullets he’d just taken. Looking up, Daniel saw Peggy at the other end of the smoking gun.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I first started writing this story to play with the theme of "commitment". Sort of the "contract" of the relationship Peggy and Daniel would have to with each to balance her unusually high powered career (for the times I mean), with their relationship. 
> 
> But now that season 2 is out, I think I've unintentionally hit on some of the themes it's carrying as well. Peggy's tendency to hold her emotions back and prove that she's an equal by going it alone. And while it's not been shown on the show as of yet, Daniel's insecurities surrounding his lost leg that he'll always be dealing with one way or another. 
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on how well I carried these themes through. Peggy and Daniel are such interesting and complex characters. I hope I did some of the issues that would lie between them justice.


	10. Day Four Hundred and Twenty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it's been a very long time since this story was updated. My apologies. Regardless of how delayed it was, I hope you enjoy the conclusion.

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Carter.”

“Very funny, Quentin.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. Mr. Carter and Director Carter.”

“Much better.” Daniel said, playfully batting the younger man on the arm.

“How was the trip?” Bentley asked, taking both Peggy and Daniel’s suitcases, before walking with them towards the exit.  

“Great!” Daniel replied with real enthusiasm.

“For you.” Peggy said with a sardonic raise of an eyebrow. “You spent it on the beach and at playing tourist. Some of us have to work for a living.”

“Hey now! I’m working as a liaison. You’re not keeping me, Peg.”

“I never said I was, my love. But I was working in Cancun, while you were lying on a beach. Which does not seem fair.”

“That may be true, Madam Director” Bentley chimed in good-naturedly, dropping their bags in the trunk of the car. “But your skin’s not tomato red, like Mr. Carter’s here is. Looks like someone spent too much time in the sun.”

Tomato red wasn’t actually the best way to describe Daniel’s skin. Flushed pink might be a more accurate descriptor. Regardless, he was still more than a little sun burnt. He was so dark, he usually didn’t color at all. But he also didn’t usually fall asleep on a Mexican beach for a few good hours either.

After the lead he’d been following had hit a very rough dead end, Daniel had decided to drown his frustrations in a cocktail on the beach while he waited for Peggy’s day of summit meeting to draw to an end. Hot, likely already dehydrated, and exhausted, Daniel had a few sips of the rum concoction the bartender told him was the specialty drink and had passed right out. To be woken hours later when a clearly amused Peggy, still in full business wear, had come out of the hotel to find him. 

From the public perspective, it must have seemed that Peggy had accepted the trip to the Mexican summit as a way to take a sort of honeymoon with her new husband. After all, the conference wasn’t exactly the kind of thing she needed to attend as SHIELD’s director. But she and Daniel hadn’t taken a trip together after their marriage, and the location, a five star resort in a part of Mexico working hard to attract American tourists, had a lot of appeal. And several high ranking officials had made their way to Cancun to auspiciously attend the summit, while really planning a trip to the beach.  

But the truth was that Peggy had accept the invitation, not under the guise of doing her own work, but to give Daniel an excuse to do his.

Because like Jack, Daniel had moved to that space and place in the spy world, where just what he did and who he did it for was dubiously unclear. His name was known and important, but no one knew what his agenda was or who he was truly working for. For Daniel, who liked chains of command and clear lines of authority, it was a position he still occasionally struggled with. But necessary for the work, which required a high degree of autonomy, freedom of movement and, most importantly, freedom from questions. The ability to do things, be places, and investigate with little to no push back or repercussions.

Because somewhere, in some file that would likely never see the light of day, Daniel was listed as the US operative collecting data on the Red Room. Learning about the Black Widow program, Fennhoff’s work, and the Winter Solider initiative. Then reporting his findings to various parties in the government with “interests” in those activities. Daniel did his job and did it well. Dotting his “I’s” and crossing his “T”s, and no doubt helping the American efforts to protect itself from the red threat.

But at its core, his work was about Bucky. And trying to save him from himself. Trying to save him for the Howling Commandos and for Peggy. Because someone close enough to the situation, but not so emotionally invested, had to step in and take over when it became apparent that Barnes was going to survive.

And Daniel had considered it an honor to step up in the role.

One of the first things he did was marry off to the newly returned “Captain America” to Betty Carver as Peggy had suggested. And just as she and Stark had planned, it had blown up in the news at first. They’d had to do a few more carefully staged photos, draft a few phony interviews, and wait for the story to die down enough that the new couples’ “request for privacy” was not so much eventually honored, as the news coming out of the USSR reduced even Captain America to just another returning GI.

Also as Peggy and Stark had said, they’d have it put about in the former SSR and SHIELD circles that the Captain had come back unwell. And Peggy had stepped up to protect him with a faked marriage. There’d been all kind of whispers and speculations about it, but that eventually died down too. When a respectable amount of time had passed, Daniel and Peggy married without much fanfare and really without much comment from even Peggy’s detractors.

Cap became, old forgotten news.

Meanwhile, Daniel quietly found a safe, out of the way place to move Bucky. Starks money helped a lot with that; in making sure Bucky had the creature comforts. And in buying the silence of the people who helped attend him.

For Daniel it hadn’t been nearly as upsetting as he thought all of it would be. After Peggy had shot Bucky, he’d found his anger had simply dissipated. It had dispelled in a moment of clarity as he looked over Peggy’s smoking gun directly into her eyes. She’d not kept him in the dark because her feelings had wavered or because she didn’t trust him. Peggy had simply prioritized in the way that only Peggy could.

Barnes had needed her. His situation was life and death. So that’s all that Peggy could see. And she’d acted accordingly. Her singlemindedness was both an asset and a detriment to her. And Daniel told her so gently, once Barnes was in the clear, and they were alone.

“You told me you wanted to be called back to yourself if you got off mission. Well Peggy, you’re off. What was done to Barnes was horrible and wrong. But you can’t help him at the detriment to yourself and others. You’re no use to him or anyone else like that. As much as you want to, you can’t save him by sheer force of will, Peggy. You have to accept that.”

Peggy had teared up at the truth of that. But acknowledged it and accepted it. Just as Daniel had accepted that he was going to do everything he could, within reason, to help Barnes. So his delayed marriage and the occasional whisper about being the consolation prize never bothered him the way he thought it would. What ended up keeping Daniel up at night was Bucky himself.

And how little Daniel could truly do to help him.

Because it was going to be a game of wait and see. See how much of Peggy’s and the Commando’s friend was still there. And was salvageable.

The first time Daniel had visited Bucky in the house they’d set him up in on the isolated sea shore, Daniel had been truly afraid. Not for his own safety. Not because of what had happened to Peggy and to him. But because he was so desperate to return with good news. That after visiting with Bucky, and talking with his doctors and caregivers, that he could report there had been some progress. That there was hope he’d eventually get better.

But that hope hadn’t been all that bright after their first meeting. Barnes had dropped a lot of weight and looked hallow and pale. He’d barely spoken to Daniel, other than to say how sorry he was. And to try to briefly explain how muddled things were in his mind. How angry he was, but how he wasn’t sure why.

When Daniel came again for a second visit that was when Daniel began to have some real hope for Barnes. And when he and Bucky had broken the ice. Somehow Captain Rogers had come up. And Daniel found himself on the edge of his seat, riveted to hear about the man he had never known, but who was such a central figure in the lives of the people he cared about.

It wasn’t that Peggy and the Commandos didn’t talk about the Captain. They did, but not the way that Barnes did. For Peggy and the Commandos, Cap had become an ideal in so many ways. Something to aspire too and live up too. He was immortalized for them. But for Barnes, who’d not lived through the Cap’s death, none of that weight was yet on his memories. His loss of Steve was new and raw. And he’d only just begun to mourn his friend. And as part of that, Barnes had wanted to talk about him.  

So for the first time, the man Peggy had named her life's work after became a real, whole person to Daniel. Through Barnes stories, Daniel felt he both knew and understood who Steve Rogers was in a way he never had before. And regretted even more deeply that he’d never meet him. 

Daniel had visited Barnes as often as he could. To pump him for information, to update him on anything he’d been able to find on the Winter Soldier program, and to be his friend. But more than a year later, despite their easy rapport, he’d been nervous when it came time to tell him and he and Peggy were moving ahead with the wedding.

Barnes had offered a quiet congratulations.  And then as a seeming non-sequitor asked what had happened to his old things. Daniel was used to Bucky going down random paths by then. They often had a purpose, so Daniel told him simply that his possession had been stored away. Asking for paper, Barnes had written down specific instruction on a specific box he wanted Daniel to find before the wedding. A gift, but not from himself, but rather from the late Captain.

Daniel had gone looking for it as instructed and found it with little trouble. What Barnes had set him after was a framed Irish Blessing that had belonged to Steve’s family. He’d brought it home to a tearful Peggy and they’d hung it on their entrance wall. It was the closet they’d ever get to having a true blessing from the Captain.

Bentley escorted them to the waiting car and placed their luggage in the trunk, before popping up front to drive. As the young man had been transitioning from Peggy over to him, Daniel had tried to discourage such deference. It felt elitist in a way that made Daniel uncomfortable. And also having once lived with the notion that he might not be able to certain things for himself ever again, Daniel simply preferred to do things on his own. When he’d mentioned this to Peggy though, she’d simply scoff at him and wished him luck with getting Bentley to stop.

Bentley, and his desire to join Daniel in his semi-off the books work, (Daniel had been very clear on the point that Bentley would be working _with_ him and not _for_ him), had been something of a sore point between him and Peggy.

“I’ve just broken him in.” Peggy had said tersely from the kitchen the evening that Bentley had broken the news to her. “For heaven sake, Daniel. You could have at least given me a few months – at least a year – to enjoy the fruits of my labor before you stole him out from under my nose.”

“Well next time, don’t train your people so well. Or encourage them to be so ambitious.” He’d said good-naturedly.

Peggy had playful thrown an oven mite in his face, while he’d finished preparing their dinner.

But the truth was Bentley was a tremendous loss to Peggy and SHIELD. Yet even as Peggy pretend to be disgruntled about Daniel stealing him (which wasn’t true, Bentley had approached Daniel about the position), he knew she was proud that the man who was truly her first protégé was spreading his wings and making his own way.

And Peggy had done a wonderful job of molding raw talent. Bentley – Quentin to Daniel now – was smart, capable, organized, efficient and resourceful. But he was also a stubborn as a mule. And just as Peggy had warned Daniel, getting Bentley to unlearn his deferential treatment was no small task. Watching Bentley refill Daniel’s glass at a meeting one day, Stark referred to Bentley as his Jarvis. And Daniel had wanted to crawl under a table and die. But that didn’t make it any less true.

Before starting the car, Bentley handed a manila folder over the seat. Just who it was directed towards though wasn’t quite clear, as Bentley was still in that strange no man’s land of his transfer.

“I hope you both don’t mind, but as you’d asked for the same information, I thought it wouldn’t be a bother sharing the file. It’s very laborious to make unnecessary copies.”

Peggy and Daniel shot each other a look and reached for the file at the same time. Flipping it open, they saw it was a detailed dossier on Frank’s new and special librarian friend. 

Daniel glared at Peggy.

“Oh please, Daniel, you asked for the information as well. I adore your father. And goodness knows he has a sound head on his shoulders, but things have been getting rather intense between him and his new lady friend. And given who you and I are, it’s simply prudent to make sure she’s….”

“On the up and up?” Daniel chimed in.

“That as well, but I was going to say truly worthy of your father’s fancy.”

Daniel smiled. Happy to know that while Peggy was concerned that his father’s new love interest wasn’t trying to get to them through him, that she was also genuinely concerned for his father, who was now dating for the first time since his mother had passed away. Even if Peggy’s concerns were express by doing a background check for something as meniscal as a speeding ticket.

“No, I understand completely.” Daniel said, thinking of his upcoming trip to see Barnes. He had no news to report on the Red Room and the various Soviet projects that had turned the former corporal into a killing machine. But their trip to Mexico hadn’t been wasted. He’d obtained the name of a psychologist called Ulric Neisser. The man was doing ground breaking work in his field and had agreed to meet with Bucky. And Daniel was hopeful that the doctor’s innovative new therapy style might be able to further Bucky’s recovery and healing.

“We have to take care of our collective family, don’t we?” Daniel said pointed after a moment.

Peggy nodded with a knowing smirk, then settling against Daniel’s side, so they could read through the file. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes:
> 
> A framed Irish Blessing is literally an Irish poem or blessing in a frame. Commonly hung (then and now) in the homes of people of Irish decent. Here's an example if you need a visual: https://www.theirishstore.com/framed-irish-blessing-print?aff=ppc_us_shopping&gclid=CMfClp6E2tMCFdCNswodnrwKpA
> 
> Ulric Gustav Neisser is the father of cognitive psychology. His first real work on the subject didn't publish until 1967, so I'm being liberal with the dating. But I wanted to make the point that Daniel was leaving no stone unturned to help Bucky. Even looking into new therapy and treatment options for him.


End file.
